Akila Dananjaya

Akila Dananjaya Biography

Akila Dananjaya is a Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays the limited overs format in the national team. He was born on 4 October 1993 in the Panadura region of Sri Lanka. The 5 feet 7 inches tall bowls right-arm off the break and is considered as a bowling all-rounder.

Background

Dananjaya talents were spotted by former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene when he was bowling at the nets for Wayamba United during the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League.

As a result, Dananjaya was roped in by the team for that edition of the tournament. He performed phenomenally in the second match itself as he took 3/18 against Nagenahira Nagas.

Debut

The Sri Lankan made his international debut in the year 2012 and was selected in the Sri Lanka squad for the 2012 ICC World Twenty20.

The 18-year old played his first game in front of his home crowd in Kandy, when he played against the Kiwis. He picked up two wickets in the match.

He made to the ODI squad later that year against the same opponents in the year 2012. However, the match was washed out due to rain and he could not bowl a single delivery.

Dananjaya played his first ODI match only in June 2017 against Zimbabwe.

Rise to Glory

After coming back to the Lankan set up in 2017, Dananjaya was among the few bright spots in an otherwise dreadful year for Sri Lankan cricket. His performance against India at Pallekele, when he took six wickets to wipe out the Indian middle-order was noteworthy, despite Sri Lanka not being able to close out the game in their favor.

Low Point

During Dananjaya’s debut performance in the T20 cricket, he met with an injury which was a dreadful phase of his life. New Zealand’s batsman, Rob Nicol hit the ball towards the bowler, the ball slipped from Dananjaya’s hands and fractured his cheekbone which led him to miss rest of the tournament.

Club Career

Akila Dananjaya was sold to the Chennai Super Kings for his base price of $20,000 in the 2013 IPL season.