The curtains came down on Sri Lanka’s domestic 50-over tournament this week with Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) crowned champions in emphatic fashion, hammering Police SC by a whopping 187 runs under lights at Maitland Crescent.
But while CCC’s dominance made headlines, it was a 22-year-old middle-order batter — Pavan Rathnayake — who stole the show and set tongues wagging across the cricketing circles.
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Walking in at 155 for three at the halfway mark, Rathnayake launched into the opposition bowling like a man possessed. By the time the dust settled, he had smashed an unbeaten 158 off just 94 balls, peppering the boundary rope 13 times and clearing on nine occasions. It was a blitzkrieg innings that turned a final into his own backyard net session.
The knock wasn’t just brute force. Rathnayake’s innings was an exhibition of clean, calculated hitting — power with poise. Not slogging across the line, but pure cricketing strokes that would have made the purists nod in approval.
It was, as some remarked, as if Chris Gayle had slipped on a CCC jersey. The timing couldn’t have been sweeter. Just a day earlier, veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews, speaking on The Papare Legends series, tipped Rathnayake as “the next big thing” in Sri Lankan cricket. Former Test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne chimed in too, writing on social media that the youngster was ready for the big league.
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Selectors now find themselves staring at a Hobson’s choice. With a white-ball series against Zimbabwe looming, Rathnayake’s name is expected to be inked into the squad — not pencilled in. There’s already murmurs about whether he should also be fast-tracked into the T20 setup with the World Cup just around the corner.
Sri Lanka’s middle-order has been crying out for a batter who can shift gears at will. With few having strike rates north of 130, Rathnayake’s fireworks have forced the selection panel to sit up and take notice.
True, one swallow doesn’t make a summer and comparing formats can be a mug’s game. But Rathnayake’s consistency across formats tells its own tale. He has not only piled on runs in the domestic one-dayers and First-Class circuit, but also impressed overseas. A century against Afghanistan ‘A’ in the UAE and another recently Down Under during the ‘A’ team tour have underscored his ability to adapt.
The signs are there: this lad looks the real deal. It’s also heartening to see Sri Lanka’s domestic structure finally producing a steady stream of talent. Sonal Dinusha, fresh off his Test debut last month, has been a pillar of consistency, while Pasindu Sooriyabandara continues to churn out runs across formats. And then there’s Asanka Manoj, the Army pacer who became the talking point during the ‘A’ series in Australia as he was able to generate raw pace.
Credit, too, must go to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). Regular bilateral tours for the ‘A’ team, Development Squad and Under-19s have kept the pipeline flowing and the competition fierce.
With SSC expected to join the party by installing floodlights next year, there is growing hope that the entire tournament can soon be played under lights — a move that will undoubtedly draw more fans beyond the clubhouses. If we can do that for First Class cricket as well using pink ball, that will be a good preparation for day-night Tests.
If this tournament was any indication, Sri Lanka’s domestic game is slowly but surely turning a corner. And in Pavan Rathnayake, the island may just have unearthed a gem ready to shine on the global stage.
 crowned champions in emphatic fashion, hammering Police SC by a whopping 187 runs under lights at Maitland Crescent. ){kind=link}