CricAddict
Cricketer Of The Year
Ranatunga
Ravi Ratnayeke
Wickramasinghe
Kaluwitharana
Kusal Mendis
Ravi Ratnayeke
Wickramasinghe
Kaluwitharana
Kusal Mendis
This for me tooHashan Tillakaratne
Duleep Mendis
Dilruwan Perera
This.Hashan Tillakaratne
Duleep Mendis
Dilruwan Perera
this for me tooDilhara Fernando
6.Dhananjaya de Silva
Michael Vandort
I was somehow under the impression that he retired before he played in Tests but it seems I'm wrong. Happy to change my vote as I think he's the best bowler available at the moment.Sometimes one needs to look beyond mere Test statistics to fully appreciate the true stature of a player. In the years before being granted Test status, the Sri Lankans did occasionally play unofficial Tests against the Test nations, and Ajit de Silva was comfortably the most impressive bowler, taking 55 wickets at 28. He dismissed the world class Indian batsman Gundappa Viswanath seven times in eight innings.and took a magnificent 6 for 36 against Australia in 1981. Yes, the Test nations would not always have taken these matches as seriously as real Tests, and they may not always have put a full strength side in the field, but de Silva's track record of consistently fine performances against Test nations was instrumental in helping the Lankans to achieve Test status.
When Siddath Wettimuny was asked to pick his all time Sri Lankan side for The Cricketer magazine in 1996, he chose Ajit de Silva as the second spinner ahead of Somachandra de Silva. Around the turn of the century, Arjuna Ranatunga said he considered de Silva to be the best left arm spinner ever produced by Sri Lanka and the second best spinner, after Murali.
In the words of Nirgunan Tiruchelvam:
"Ajit de Silva was one of the finest left-arm spinners that Sri Lanka has ever produced. He had nagging accuracy, biting turn and a lovely loop. Standing over six feet, he could extract bounce from the tamest of tracks. De Silva was a master of drift, a quality that made him a formidable customer irrespective of the surface. His deliveries used to hiss in their flight. They were like grenades once they pitched."
A quote from an article in the Sri Lankan Daily News newspaper:
"he was a tall left arm bowler who was naturally gifted he had large hands which fitted the bill perfectly for a slow left arm orthodox bowler. He bowled a perfect arc and had a classical follow through and by now he had mastered the ‘dipper’ which hung in the air to deceive the batsmen and also how to use the width of the crease as well."