One of the finest attacking batsmen to come through from Sri Lanka Under-19 side is Avishka Fernando. When Sri Lanka Under-19 won a series in England in 2016 under Roy Dias, Avishka played a pivotal role in the series win and British press commented that the shots he plays and the time he has to play them reminded them of a certain Aravinda de Silva. Soon, Avishka was drafted into the senior side, but he didn’t make an impact and was shown the door.
Since then he has been in and out of the side. An opening batsman who can make use of field restrictions in white ball cricket, he has been played all over the line up.
As Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign was a flop, one point that was highlighted was that someone like Avishka should have been in the squad. However, to be fair by the selectors, he had a bad run prior to the World Cup.Avishka is on the verge of being recalled to the senior side for the upcoming series against India as he has been in cracking form in the LPL.
On Wednesday, Dambulla Sixers had posted 192 for two with Kusal Perera smashing a century in 52 balls. It was a massive target. Jaffna Kings chased down the target to get a win under their belt in a last ball thriller. Avishka was their star as he produced a sparkling 80 in just 34 deliveries with seven fours and six sixes. His knock earned him the Man of the Match award.
“It was a big game for us and the target was quite demanding. We had to get 12 runs per over at one stage and we had a game plan and glad we pulled it off. Charith Asalanka was brilliant today. It’s good to be out in the middle batting with him.’
Avishka shared a 134 run partnership with the Jaffna Kings captain after they had been reduced to 36 for three. It was a superb comeback.
“I was slotted to bat at number three, but I had a chat to the coach and we decided that it’s better if I bat at number four. Glad it turned out to be a good decision. Avishka now has back to back half-centuries in the tournament. His form is vital for Jaffna Kings. After winning three titles in a row, Jaffna were a flop last year. Their rebuilding has gone well and Avishka is a key player for them. In this form, there’s no doubt that he will be recalled to the Sri Lankan side next month.
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