Kamil the next Kithuruwan?

By Harsha Amarasinghe

Kamil Mishara was sent home from the Bangladesh Tour during the ongoing second Test in Mirpur on Tuesday for allegedly violating the player code of conduct, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) stated.

Mishara, having played quite brilliantly for Royal College during his school career, continued to shine with Sri Lanka Under-19 as well. His performances representing Sri Lanka ‘A’ against Pakistan ‘A’ last year paved the way for the young man to make his debut in Australia earlier this year. Despite the immense talent, Mishara has always had disciplinary issues as he was banned for one-year by the SLC in 2019. His latest antics in Bangladesh remind everyone of another immensely talented left hander from Royal College – Kithuruwan Vithanage.

One of the most elegant batsmen in the modern era, Vithanage just like Mishara, was meant for big things – in cricket. At a certain point, some believed that in Vithanage Sri Lanka had found a long-term replacement for legendary number three Kumar Sangakkara. However, Vithanage did not last long. In 2016, then 25-year-old was banned for one year and since then he has never ever been close to receiving a national call.

Vithanage at the age of 31 now plays for Moors Sports Club as an opener but, representing Sri Lanka looks a distant dream for the notorious one because what you lose as a player over matters like this, cannot easily be regained – blokes like Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella might think otherwise, but at this stage Vithanage could have been Sri Lanka’s captain in all forms of cricket had he not lost his mind.

Mishara is still only 21, and if he is not serious about his cricket and professionalism, he could also be a lesser-known domestic cricketer chasing a comeback that would never come his way. Vithanage may not be a role model for Mishara, but the latter could certainly learn a lot from the former because without self-discipline, success is impossible.

Lion-hearted Fernando

While his pace partner Kasun Rajitha stole the limelight on Tuesday, becoming only the second fast bowler to have taken a five-fer against Bangladesh since Dilhara Fernando in Test cricket, Asitha Fernando’s performance should not be neglected.

The 24-year-old shared the new ball with Lahiru Kumara during his Under-19 days, but Kumara went places largely thanks to his pace. Fernando on the other hand, had to be on the sidelines for many years to prove his class, and when he was finally given a proper run on the flat wickets up in Bangladesh, he demonstrated that he is everything you want from a fast bowler in Test cricket.

He picked up a couple of wickets with the new ball, but when the going got tough and the batsmen had settled, Fernando looked like the likeliest to get a wicket when everyone else appeared to be ineffective.

When the ball got older, Kasun Rajitha found it hard to swing the ball which is very much understandable in those conditions, but Fernando proved to be good all-round fast bowler as he became captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s go-to guy setting up the short-ball trap which nearly succeeded when Litton Das who scored a fine century was dropped on 47 by substitute fielder Kamindu Mendis.

The selectors and the coaching staff must back players of this calibre because he ran in and gave his all for the national team at a time the wicket was offering nothing, batsmen were batting very well and few shoulders on the field were dropping. A lot of bowlers offer pace, bounce, swing and reserves swing, but in Fernando Sri Lanka has a heart of a lion.