“Where was he hiding, where was he hiding” – Former Indian skipper/commentator Sunil Gavaskar muttered these words in awe of the talent of a certain 20-year old Sri Lankan on his debut. Young Thisara Perera who replaced injured Angelo Mathews in the team for the 4th ODI of Sri Lanka’s tour of India 2009, wasted no time impressing the spectators as he bludgeoned his way to a 14-ball 31 against the likes of the experienced Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra.
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Fast forward 11 years, Perera has now become an integral part of Sri Lanka’s ODI setup and one of the country’s leading all-rounders with more than 2000 ODI runs and 150 wickets to his name within his shaky career. He has contributed many match winning performances with the ball and his late fireworks at the end of the innings with the bat have brought Sri Lanka success too in the past 11 years.
Though Perera has batted from No. 3 to 9 throughout his career, he has succeeded most at the No. 06/07 position in the national side, averaging 34.4 at No. 06 and 20.87 at No. 7. However, in a recent interview with ThePapare.com, 31-year-old divulged that he has always had a soft spot for opening the innings, something he has not done in his international career.
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“I prefer to open the batting as I used to be an opener in Schools days until Under-15 cricket. Since I hit the ball hard in the air, there is a chance I could find a boundary comfortably because of the fielding restrictions” – Perera revealed.
Hailing from St. Joseph’s College, Perera had a sensational record in his school career as he went on to represent Sri Lanka in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup. The pinnacle of his school cricket career materialized on the same year, at the 74th Battle of the Saints as he delivered a performance worthy of the Player of the Match award, guiding his team to a historic victory.
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In his early days, Perera used to open the innings but he had to adopt his role according to the need of the team. “In my Under-15 year at St. Joseph’s College’s then coach Harsha de Silva sir asked me to bat low in the batting order to strengthen the middle order. Since then in schools’ Under-17, Under-19 teams and national teams, I used to be the No. 06, the all-rounder in the team”
Even though he doesn’t get to bat at his most preferred position, the senior statesman is now committed to his role in the national side as the No. 06/07 and is waiting impatiently to get back onto the ground in national colors again.
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“I still like to bat at the top of the order but I have a job in my hand in the national team to provide that impetus at the latter part of the innings. I have the confidence to clear the boundary even if a fielder is in the deep”
Looking back at the career of Thisara Perera, this burly all-rounder has achieved many feats. He captained the national team, was a part of a World Champion team and had the rare opportunity to seal the winning runs in a World Cup final, that too with a six. When he was asked about what drives him to be better, Perera revealed that he dreams of another World Cup win for Sri Lanka before he hangs up his boots.
