Feature Stories

‘Domestic brands give value for money’ screamed the title of a magazine placed on the table of a plush five star hotel room. As I read further while waiting for the interview, the same page said ‘foreign brands woo Indian people.’ While the article may have categorized the taste of Indians, the very presence of the Lankan star – Avishka Gunawardene in Delhi Giants’ team is to get maximum return with a dash of international flavor.

The slam bang batting which is now the USP of T20 format was first devised and implemented by the Lankan team in the mid-90s. The right hand-left hand combination of Jayasuriya –Kaluwitharana were enthralling everyone with aggressive play and Coach Dav Whatmore was at the helm. In a well laid out thought process by the Lankan management, the Sri Lankan A team too, played in the same manner.

The supply chain had to be ongoing and the hunt for another opener was on. The bulky Gunawarardene with his raw power kept smashing the ball hard in the A team while batting in the middle order. To fit him in the scheme of things, the southpaw was asked to open to gain advantage of the field restrictions. “I always used to hit the ball hard, but being in the middle order I had to face spinners more often. I scored a quick-fire 97 from 70 balls for Lanka A and probably that innings changed it all,” he reminisces. Roy Dias took over from Whatmore after the 1996 World Cup and Gunawardene was drafted into the national side as Dias gave finishing touches to his plan of an understudy to Jayasuriya and a back up for Kaluwitharana.

Rare record amidst ups and downs

The platform provided was well used and soon his style was likened to the ever destructive Jayasuriya. It was an underhand compliment with a warning that laxity wasn’t an option. With regular openers, he was never given a fixed position – a reason for never having a permanent berth. “My batting position was shuffled throughout and I never really got the time to settle so there has been lot of ups and downs in my career,” he says without any fuss. However, Avishka has a rare record to his credit. He is the first batsman to score a century in Commonwealth Games. “Yeah, I still cherish that record as it was the only time when cricket was one of the sports in the Commonwealth games (1998). I batted all the way through despite being hit on the jaw.” 

Gunwardene hasn’t changed his style much since making his debut in Colombo in 1998. “In Sri Lanka, we don’t chop and change much but let a player continue his usual way,” he explains. It probably also tells that why Emerald Islands produces so many unorthodox players. Even with the Giants, he is expected to blast the new ball bowlers and get maximum runs with his lusty blows. 

Coaching the captain

Not many would know that the Delhi Giants southpaw is the coach of the present Sri Lankan skipper -Mahela Jayawardena. In fact more than half the current national side has players from the Sinhalese Sports Club that is coached by Gunawardene. “For three years I captained the side and we did not have a coach last year but still won.” When I took up the ICL offer, they decided to hand over the post of Coach to me.”
With over a decade of experience under his belt now, Gunwardene feels it’s time to pay back. “Cricket has made me what I am today. I have travelled all around and I feel it’s time to impart knowledge as I play with a lot of youngsters in the Indian Cricket League.”

Delhi Giants - One big family

He has interesting company in the Delhi Giants. The coach of the present captain plays under the leadership of former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Attapattu. “I have known him since our school days and we have spent a lot of time. The experience is different playing in India in such a serious tournament with international stars and Indian youngsters."

Gunawardene feels that ICL has grown in leaps and bounds. "My team Delhi Giants is like one big family. We enjoy each other’s success and that also creates the winning combination.” Gunawardene makes it a point to comment on the support staff which can be called as the top notch. “We have a great support staff. The trainer from Australia I feel is the best in the world. The support staff, coaches and international players make it very professional. You find this level only when representing the national side. The ICL competition is as good as any international tournament.”

Avishka also feels that since India has a vast pool of talent, it was imperative for a league like ICL to come up and provide a platform to budding talent. “You guys have cricketers in every city. It is important that the talent that India produces is more streamlined and given maximum exposure. With the advent of ICL the budding cricketers can now showcase their skills and at the same time the world gets to see the glimpses of the future stars.”

Being heavily associated in the domestic leagues in Sri Lanka, he also revealed the mood of the Lankan players. “Dhaka Warriors have added another level of enthusiasm. But let me tell you that many Sri Lankan players back home are interested in joining ICL and I hope that we can have a Sri Lankan side soon.”

Moulin Parikh