Chamika Gunasekara — a star in the making
Debut cap - Anandian to an Anandian
Over the years Sri Lanka is known for producing quality spin bowlers, and they always tend to dominate proceedings, especially on home soil. But in the recent years there have been a significant increase in the production of fast-bowlers with the commencement of Sri Lanka Cricket’s High Performance Centre located at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
The progress of the next generation of fast bowlers have been closely monitored by a panel of expert coaches which include Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Chamila Gamage and Darshana Gamage.
Several fast bowlers have reaped the benefits of being able to be grow under the shades of the national fast bowling coaches at the early stages of their careers. As a result, it has become easier to pick and choose players in to the national team.
Chamika Gunasekara is such a youngster who has emerged from this group of fast bowlers. He has been able to learn the art of fast bowling within a short period of time and eventually his dream of representing the national team has now become a reality.
Chamika’s cricketing journey began at an early stage. In a family of three children whose passion and the enthusiasm had grown towards the sport, he began to adore the sport while playing with his two elder brothers.
At the tender age of three, Chamika lost his father and as a consequence his mother had to look after the family. As time went by, with the help of his mother and the two older brothers, Chamika was encouraged to pursue his dream of representing his country at the highest level.
“When I started my journey as a cricketer I had to encounter challenges. Despite setbacks my mother sacrificed her entire life to look after us, and my siblings always told me that they would do everything possible in enabling me to follow the footsteps of becoming a professional cricketer. Recalling it now gives me immense satisfaction,” Chamika said, recalling his childhood.
On his way to the top, Chamika idolised many fast bowlers including the Sri Lankan legends Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga and Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc. Chamika is aware that every fast bowler has their unique ways of dismissing a batsman. The 22-year-old youngster said that he also learned to hold his nerve during crunch situations while enjoying the proceedings.
Chamika is a proud product of Ananda College, Colombo. When he was nine Chamika joined the school’s cricket academy. From there he was chosen for the Under-13 squad. He grew under the guidance of late Sajith Rupasinghe and then was groomed by Rohan Soysa, who was the coach in Under-15 and Under-17 levels. He was also nurtured by his first XI coach Sanjeeva Ranatunga.
He played in the first XI team for three consecutive years, from 2017 to 2019. In his first year, Chamika was awarded school colours and in the last year he was appointed the vice captain. During his school career, he was an integral team member at all age group levels where they won numerous championships. The youngster played in three Ananda-Nalanda Big Match encounters which he regards as one of the memorable moments in his illustrious school career. Following his achievements in the school arena, Chamika was selected in to the Sri Lanka Under-19 pool. But unfortunately he was unable to represent his country at that level.
Despite missing out on the opportunity to represent at junior level, the then head coach of Sri Lanka Under-19 team, Hashan Thilakaratne had observed Chamika’s progress from close quarters. Due to his impressive performances at school level there were numerous invitations from domestic clubs, but he opted to join Nondescript Cricket Club after Thilakaratne, who was quick to identify the capabilities of the young fast bowler persuaded him to join his former club.
Upon reaching the next level in cricket, Chamika stated that there is a vast difference between the two.
Chamika is known to be a quick learner and has been in close association with senior players such as Dushmantha Chameera and Chamika Karunaratne. The encouragement given by the senior players and the head coach of NCC Duminda Perera enabled him to play with freedom.
Former fast bowling legend Lasith Malinga also gave Chamika some invaluable advices, mainly on game plans in which bowlers should follow at crunch situations. It was his dream to get a pieces of advice from one of his idols that he had watched on the television during his childhood.
The main reason for Chamika’s consistency has been the exposure he got during his time with the NCC Under-23 team, where he regularly kept the opposition batsmen on the edge. Soon after his success with the Under-23 side Chamika made his first class debut for NCC against Ragama Cricket Club in 2020.
After a steady start to his domestic career Chamika was selected to play for the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, where he stole the limelight in the first match itself. It was the home series against Pakistan ‘A’ Shaheens, where he took six wickets for 83 runs.
On the historic achievement, Chamika said that he just followed the instructions given by the coaching staff led by Rumesh Ratnayake and this achievement is a reward for the dedication and the commitment shown towards the game. He regarded this as a stepping stone for his future.
Soon after his heroics at Pallekele, Chamika was a step closer to make his childhood dream a reality, as the 22-year-old earned his maiden call up for the Test series against the West Indies. Even though he didn’t get a chance to get his Test debut, he got the chance to practice with the national team under the supervision of head coach Mickey Arthur. During the time he spent with the national team, Chamika was able to understand the strengths and weaknesses that he needed to work on.
He was later picked by Jaffna Kings for the second edition of the Lanka Premier League. When the squad was announced for the home series against Zimbabwe, there was a sense of excitement for the youngster when his name was included. Chamika was the 203rd player to represent Sri Lanka in One Day Internationals. He is the first Anandian to represent Sri Lanka after Dinesh Chandimal, who made his debut in international cricket 12 years ago.
When the Sri Lanka cap was handed over to Chamika, it was a moment to savour for the youngster, as his cap was presented by former Anandian Chandimal. Despite being hampered by injury in his debut ODI, he has shown the signs of being a future star for the national team in years to come.