8 Sri Lankan bowlers with unique action

Lakshan Sandkan made an impactful Test debut in the first Test of the ongoing Warne-Muralitharan Trophy in Sri Lanka. He bowled with immense confidence in the first Test at Pallekele and scalped seven wickets to his name to guide his team to a scintillating victory against the No. 1 ranked Test side, Australia. Sandakan possesses unique bowling action for a chinaman bowler. Time and again, Sri Lanka has produced such bowlers with weird actions and delivery strides. For instance, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Sajeewa de Silva and many more. Suraj Choudhari lists down eight such names form the Sri Lankan dug out who have taken the cricket fraternity by surprise with their unique bowling actions. READ MORE: 20 instances of streaker invasions in cricket (Part II)

1.  Lakshan Sandakan: The chinaman from the outskirts of Colombo has a unique action, which is quiet deceiving for the batsman. He can vary his pace and also bowl the other one without any discernible change in action. The young talent has played just a solitary Test for Sri Lanka against Australian in which he chipped seven wickets. He can definitely be one for the future.

2.  Lasith Malinga: Malinga has been a sensation to watch whenever he is putting in the hard yards. The long run-up, the slinging action, which camouflages the ball with the umpire in the background and toe-crushing yorkers makes him stand apart from his imminent peers. He has the ability to bowl surprising bouncers and outfox any batsman with a slower one. Confronting a rampant Malinga is every batsman’s nightmare.

3.  Muttiah Muralitharan: Muralitharan needs no introduction; he is the spin king with numerous records to his name. His short run-up, that wild look in his eyes, along with magnificent wrist and ability to rotate his shoulders at a tremendous speed enabled him to turn the ball on docile surfaces. He has the most number of wickets in Tests as well as One-Day Internationals (ODIs). Muralitharan’s primary weapon was his stock deliveries, which is off-spin. He had a deadly ‘doosra’ and was accurate. These attributes make him an all-time great. Muralitharan has been the reason behind several batsmen nightmares.

4.  Sachithra Senanayake: Senanayake chiselled his path into the national side riding on the performances in domestic circuit. Senanayake found himself in middle of a controversy when he was reported for suspect action. Senanayake came handy in shorter formats with a rare carom ball in his armoury.

5.  Ajantha Mendis: Mendis announced himself at the international stage in the Asia Cup final against India in July 2008. He ran through the Indian line-up, claiming six wickets to his name. What made his outing more memorable was the fact that he did so against a side which is known for their prowess against spin. Mendis continue to haunt the Indians in the Test series later that year. He had uncanny variations up in his sleeve and it was very difficult for the batsman to pick him. Short run-up and a weird one along with not releasing the position of the seam till the very last moment made him undetectable.

6.  Akila Dananjaya: Dananjaya is another testament to Sri Lanka’s ability of producing unorthodox bowlers. The young lad hailing from Panadura belongs to the rare breed of bowlers who can bowl off-spin as well as leg-spin. He also bowled effective carom ball and boasts of a mysterious googly. All these qualities in one single bowler.

7.  Tharindu Kaushal: Kaushal is one of the effective spinners Sri Lanka possess at the moment with a high jump in his delivery stride to bowl off-spin. Kaushal makes good use of his orthodox technique to bowl off-spin and generates turn from the surface. A ‘doosra’ as his secondary weapon, Kaushal has done a good job in eight Tests he played so far.

8.  Sajeewa de Silva: A left-arm pacer from late 90s, Sajeewa de Silva was widely reckoned for his sole action in that era. He had an uncanny knack of taking small leaps while running towards the crease. He played eight Tests and 38 ODIs for Sri Lanka with swing and accuracy being his forte.