Sri Lanka’s premier white-ball cricketer Wanindu Hasaranga is making huge noises in the ongoing IPL 2022 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
With his maiden IPL five-wicket haul, against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the leg-spinner has taken his wicket tally to 21, in 12 matches, and is now the second leading wicket-taker of the tournament, just behind Rajasthan Royals leggie Yuzvendra Chahal who has 22 wickets.
Wanindu Hasaranga has got everyone excited with his bowling and also in the intrigue of his story to the world’s best T20 league:
Born on July 29, 1997, in Galle, Hasaranga started as a batsman who could bowl aggressive leg-breaks. Soon after gaining recognition as a prodigy, he was drafted into Sri Lanka’s 2015 and 2016 Under-19 teams and made an instant impact.
He bagged 3/34 against England in the 2016 Youth World Cup quarter-final while also plundering loads of runs. Hasaranga made a quickfire 87 on his first-class debut with Ports Authority Cricket Club, and, having switched to Colombo Cricket Club, hit 586 runs at an average of 39.06 and a strike rate of 93 in the 2017 Premier League Tournament.
He got his maiden ODI call-up in 2017 when Sri Lanka hosted Zimbabwe and made his ODI debut in Galle where he created history by becoming only the third debutant to pick an ODI hat-trick as the Zimbabwean batters had no answer to his mystery spin.
Wanindu Hasaranga 5/18 changed the game for RCB,
A dream spell for any bowler
#RCBvSRH pic.twitter.com/fiYUkozJNU
— Madhur (@im_madhur) May 8, 2022
He had had a decent run in ODI cricket for two years, but it was his emergence in T20s – making his T20I debut in 2019 – that changed his career. In T20 cricket, Hasaranga has taken 136 wickets in 97 matches at a brilliant average of 15.55 and an enviable economy of 6.64. He can also hit crucial runs lower down the order, and is an excellent fielder; all these combinations make him a dream cricketer for any captain in T20 cricket.
Then came the IPL. From going unsold in the IPL 2021 auction to being roped in as a replacement player by RCB for the UAE leg last season, to being released to being bought by the same franchise for a whopping 10.75 crore at the IPL 2022 mega-auction- Wanindu Hasaranga has had quite a time in the IPL over the past year.
Last year, he had two poor games, leaking 60 runs in 6 wicketless overs and was released by RCB. Hasaranga then showed his quality in the T20 World Cup, finishing as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, and also became the first Sri Lankan bowler to take a hat-trick in a T20 World Cup, versus South Africa.
This forced RCB to splurge out a big amount at the mega-auction this year. And he’s repaid their faith and vindicated his heavy price tag so far, helping RCB to an upper table position.
