Kellopotha’s journey to big BBL deal

A very tall and a very skinny boy from Matale moved out to living in hostels at the Moors Sports Club in Colombo 2, nearly 12 years ago in an attempt to make it big in the domestic cricket.

Perhaps the lanky leg spinner did not quite make it on the rank turners around Colombo, but Ruwantha Kellapotha surely did turn his career around since moving to Australia becoming a star in the Victorian Premier Cricket before bagging a stunning BBL (Big Bash League) deal from Melbourne Renegades last week. Kellapotha made his first class debut for Moors Sports Club nearly a decade ago having faced competition at Under-23 levels from players such as Jeffery Vandersay, Chathuranga de Silva and Shehan Jayasuriya – all of whom had some outstanding moments playing for Sri Lanka.

Chathuranga de Silva – brother of Wanindu Hasaranga – was at the non-striker's end, when Angelo Mathews hit the winning runs to beat Pakistan in 2014 to claim the Asia Cup. Eight years later Jeffery Vandersay lifted the Asia Cup beating the same opposition despite not playing a single game in the Asia Cup 2022, and Shehan Jayasuriya, the most promising out of that bunch and the one that many expected Jayasuriya things from, is best remember for the public spat with Thisara Perera. So, then what happened to the quietest kid of that bunch – Ruwantha Kellapotha?

The former St. Thomas' Matale old boy never gave up his dream of making it big at cricket and since he moved to Australia he took his batting far more seriously and made himself a very capable batsman. The year 2022 became a very special one for him having finished the Victorian Premier Season as top wicket-taker with 37 scalps at an average of 15.6 firing Casey-South Melbourne to the finals which eventually saw him joining an elite group of Sri Lankan players to make it to the BBL including Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena, TM Dilshan, Muttiah Muralitharan and of course Lasith Malinga.

While many Sri Lankan fans were delighted to learn of Kellapotha signing for Melbourne Renegades, little did they know about the fact that he nearly became the first Sri Lankan to play in the most prestigious Australian Sheffield Shield in 60 years after Gamini Goonasena who had played for New South Wales in the 1960s. The leg spinning all-rounder had been on Victorian radar for sometime and he was given an opportunity to play in the Victorian Second XI recently. At the peak of his career, it would be a big surprise if the 31-year-old wouldn't be able to achieve that goal. By: Harsha Amarasinghe