Bhanuka cynosure of all eyes captains Royal
by Tyrell Peiris
 The 18-year-old Bhanuka
Rajapaksa, the captain of Royal says that “I have learnt a lot from
Aravinda de Silva. It is a privilege to have someone like the former
legendary Sri Lanka batsman helping me out to fine tune my batting.”
Paying a tribute to Aravinda, Bhanuka added,”I never expected in all
my life to be in a team with Aravinda. I am so very lucky he is with us
and giving advice. It is tremendous to be coached by him.” Bhanuka said
with gratitude that ‘Aravinda has helped me to keep my body steady, keep
my balance and be a bit cautious when I go out to bat.’ Indeed, this
left handed batsman is the cynosure of all eyes this inter-school
cricket season. As the captain of Royal College, Bhanuka Rajapaksa as a
third year coloursman, is the most in form batsman around.
This is in the wake of the telling impact he has made on the
international cricketing arena representing the Sri Lanka Under-19 XI.
Bhanuka, who credits his grandmother for having attracted him to play
cricket as a small tot, has been one of the corner stones of the Sri
Lanka Under-19 XI. His match winning 154 versus Australia down under in
a game during a 5-match series contributed largely to the SL U-19 XI
defeating Australia 3-2 in an ODI series which incidentally was the only
historic feat by a Sri Lanka team in Australia becoming the only side to
win a series against the kangaroos in their land.
 Coming to his grandmother’s influence in Bhanuka’s words ‘that has
made me a cricketer today’, the youngster had this to say, “When I was
very small she was the first person to throw a ball at me and encourage
me to play cricket. Sadly, she passed away five years ago.” He lamented
that the big regret in his cricketing career was that `my grandma is not
around to see me playing for my college and doing duty for the Sri Lanka
Under-19 XI.’ Bhanuka, who also contributed with two half centuries and
two 40’s for the Lanka U-19 team in the last under-19 world cup, went on
to recall that early introduction to cricket by his grandmother it
helped him along to develop his talent.
“I played a lot of cricket with children in the neighbourhood and by
the time I was 11 and in grade five I played for the CCC club in
domestic cricket. That enabled me to get selected to age group sides.
At the under-19 world cup Bhanuka’s 78-ball 79 was a match winning
knock against South Africa in the knockout quarter final. He recalls
that was an innings of bravery. The conditions were cold and the ball
seamed around.
But he used his instincts and aggressive shot making to set up a
146-run win. |
