Substitute Sasindu stuns seniors

Chris Dhambarage

It was by a way of accident that he had the opportunity of making his maiden appearance in a First XI cricket match this season while still representing the under-13 team. But it turned out to be a dream debut for Sasindu Sathsara de Silva who shot into fame instantly by capturing a match bag of ten wickets in an under-19 cricket tournament fixture.

Last week the 12-year-old right-arm off-spinner from Devapathiraja College Rathgama signalled his entry into premier cricket with a sensational spell of bowling against St. Sebastian’s College at Katuneriya. “I think this was my best day in school cricket and I enjoyed fully because I picked up three wickets in the first innings and seven wickets in the second innings,” said the grade-eight student and the former schoolboy of Sirisumana Primary. ven then he was somewhat disappointed that his team ended up on the losing side despite his bowling heroics where he single-handedly bowled out the opposition for just 74 runs in the second innings.

“I would have been very happy if we had pulled off the game outright but still it was a learning experience for me and this will certainly help me a lot in building up a successful school cricket career.” The captain of the Devapathiraja College under-13 team believed that he has the talent and the potential to become a top schoolboy cricketer and even to emulate the efforts of his schoolmate Tharindu Kaushal one of the youngest to make it to the national team.
“I think I need to work more on my variations and should become more consistent because Tharindu Kaushal was a fantastic bowler and I am happy to have being one of his team-mates even for a brief period.”

Sasindu Sathsara was grateful to the school coaching staff for including him in a First XI match following their decision to rest a couple of senior players who are scheduled to sit for the upcoming Ordinary Level examination. “I never thought that I will play in this match until the last moment and it came as a complete surprise for me and soon I was determined to grab this opportunity and make it a memorable outing.

“The first day was very tough and we were up against it but I managed to get my rhythm and bowl to a set plan which helped me to claim seven wickets in the second innings. “I got a lot of confidence from my coaches Ranjan Lasantha and Mahesh Sandaruwan and master in charge Y. Nishantha Kumara but more importantly I had plenty of backing from my elder brother who encouraged me while standing behind the stumps.” Sasindu Sathsara of course had played only softball cricket while attending the Sirisumana Primary School and it was after joining Devapathiraja College Rathgama that he began to follow the game more seriously.

He turned out to be a quick learner and soon began to master the art with his clever off-spinners and went on to spearhead his school to emerge champions in the under-13 division two tournament last year while capturing over 25 wickets. He has lived up to the expectations and maintained the same form this season as well and already he has bagged 19 wickets from five matches in the ongoing under-13 tournament with a match bag of nine wickets against Revata MMV Balapitiya as his best effort.

Sasindu Sathsara also had a short stint at the Sanath Jayasuriya Cricket Academy in Colombo last year and is very confident that he will be able to maintain his consistency in all forms of cricket. Even then the master in charge of Devapathiraja College Y. Nishantha Kumara stated that Sasindu Sathsara will be used sparingly in First XI matches because he has a long career ahead of him and need to concentrate more on junior cricket.