A youngster coming from the cricket crazy town of Moratuwa, Vishva Chathuranga’s rise to the junior national set up came following a purple patch playing for the 1st XI at Prince of Wales’ College.
From the humble beginnings of backyard cricket to playing for Sri Lanka in the under 19 ranks, Vishva recalls how his father took the initiative and sent him to a cricket academy at the tender age of eight.
Having had his primary education at Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, Vishva impressed one and all from an early age. He recalled how he made 2 centuries back then as he even went on to captain the under 13 outfit.
When asked about the most memorable knock, Vishva recalls his innings against Mahinda College in the ongoing 2016/17 season as the best, where he managed 146 runs for his school. “Against Mahinda College, that was the best up to now in my ongoing school career. I managed 146. What makes it more memorable is that I was the captain of the team as well”
Being a left handed batsman, Vishva surprisingly says his role model is right-handed South African superstar AB de Villiers. “AB is my favorite. The way he plays all around the wicket, it’s simply amazing. I love watching him play. Him been a right hander didn’t really bother me because I like watching him bat”
Additionally, he did not forget to mention that as a wicket-keeper, Kumar Sangakkara has always been an inspiration and is someone he has always looked up to.
At the age of nineteen, Vishva understands his duties as a student at his alma mater and thus was quick to point out that he tries his utmost to strike a balance with both sports and studies, saying, “my parents do make sure to bring teachers home for classes so it makes things a little bit easier”
Moving back to cricket and his 1st XI exploits he mentioned “this is my third year as a 1st XI player. In my first year i managed 300+ runs, second year 500+ runs and the third year has been the most profitable with 600+ runs so far.”
Having impressed at Prince of Wales, Vishva received a call up to the under 19 national cricket team to face South Africa. He had a good beginning to his under 19 career scoring 81 in his very first Test match.
From then on the under 19 caps kept coming and so did runs. In the recently concluded Youth Asia Cup, Vishva was the highest run getter for Sri Lanka. “The Asia cup was a good experience, I managed 193 runs with my highest being 68. I scored 68 twice in the tournament”
When asked what Vishva learned during his stint with the under 19’s, he said “beginning from the warm up, our school warm ups and the under 19 warm ups are different. It’s tough and because of the intensity of the warm up we rarely feel tired out in the field during matches. From the batting aspect, that is also quite different from what we do at school. I learnt to be more circumspect, how to rotate the strike and to keep my head without going for too many big strokes”
With the under 19 World Cup in 2018 being his final target in his under 19 career, we asked Vishva how he hopes to prepare and how he hopes to use the upcoming South African tour to his advantage. “They offer fast wickets in South Africa, so I’m looking at playing my natural game and hoping to score about three or four 50+ scores on this tour”
Vishva went on to say that he aspires to play at the highest level before the age of 21, “my main hope is to play at the highest level before the age of 21 and make a name for myself and continue with cricket”
Finally Vishva took a moment to thank all those who have helped him on his way. “First of all, I want to thank my mother and father for encouraging me to play cricket, my first coach Suranga Perera for been a good mentor and all my coaches during past and present, I am grateful to. Finally I’d like to thank all my other family members, team members and school old boys for their support”
