Since his entry to domestic cricket in 2014, wicket-keeper batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama has been earmarked as one for the future. An aggressive batsman by nature, he has all the shots in the book and also possesses the ability to make them look extra elegant during execution. Temperament isn’t his greatest friend and some pundits opine that it’s what has been pegging Samarawickrama back.
Considering the sort of batting crisis Sri Lanka had faced in recent years, he should have been an automatic pick in the national side by now. Instead, he continues to be in and out of the side despite his obvious talent. In the shorter formats, Samarawickrama enjoys batting at the top of the order where he can utilize the fielding restrictions with the utmost freedom. A product of the U19 system, he was Kusal
Mendis’ peer and while the latter has taken comparatively bigger strides as an international player, Samarawickrama’s current status is quite complicated. Considering his run-scoring prowess in domestic cricket, he will always be at the back of selectors’ minds but it’s up to the youngster to fulfil his enormous potential. If tapped well, Samarawickerama has it in him to be an all-format star.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan