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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1982-07-22)22 July 1982 (age 43) Nittambuwa, Sri Lanka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armfast-medium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 100) | 4 April 2005 v New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 16 March 2013 v Bangladesh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 118) | 18 November 2003 v England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 10 July 2017 v Zimbabwe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| T20I debut | 11 October 2008 v Pakistan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last T20I | 6 April 2017 v Bangladesh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Galle Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2011 | Colts Cricket Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Chennai Super Kings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Comilla Victorians | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | Lahore Qalandars | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source:ESPNcricinfo,24 July 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara (Sinhala:නුවන් කුලසේකර; born 22 July 1982) is a former Sri Lankancricketer who played all formats of the game.[1][2] He was educated atBandaranayake College, Gampaha.[citation needed]
He was also a key member of the team that won the2014 ICC World Twenty20 and was part of the team that made the finals of2007 Cricket World Cup,2011 Cricket World Cup,2009 ICC World Twenty20 and2012 ICC World Twenty20. In June 2016, Kulasekara retired fromtest cricket to playlimited overs cricket.[3] In July 2019, he announced his retirement from international cricket.[4] The third ODI betweenSri Lanka and Bangladesh on 31 July 2019 was dedicated to Kulasekara.[5][6][7]
Since retirement, he has moved toColombo where he now resides.
Kulasekara made hisOne Day International debut againstEngland inDambulla on 18 November 2003. He took 2–19 as England was bowled out for 88, and Sri Lanka took less than 14 overs to win the match by 10wickets.[8] Kulasekara made his test-cricket debut againstNew Zealand inNapier, New Zealand on 4 April 2005 as Sri Lanka's 100th testcap. During the match, he took only one wicket and scored aduck as the match was drawn.[9] Kulasekara made hisTwenty20 International debut on 11 October 2008against Pakistan. He secured 36runs in 3.5overs, although Pakistan won the match by three wickets.[10]
In 2008, Kulasekara took 4 for 40 againstIndia.[11] During theBangladesh tri-series, he helped his team defeat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.[12] On 25 January 2009, Kulasekara was number two in the ICC rankings forODI bowlers.[13] He took 45 wickets for an average of 20.97, which included five wickets in the last two ODIs of the seriesagainst Pakistan.[14]
Kulasekara topped the 2008 ICC ODI rankings for bowlers with 724 points.[15] He took 47 wickets at 20.97 in 29 matches, with astrike rate of 28.00 and aneconomy rate of 4.45.[16] Kulasekara was ranked number one among ODI bowlers on 11 March 2009, remaining in that position until 26 September of that year. The retirement ofChaminda Vaas and the inconsistency ofLasith Malinga helped him to emerge as the star strike bowler of the Sri Lankan side. His spell of 4 for 41 at Colombo was nominated as one of the best ODI bowling performances of the year byESPNcricinfo.[17]
During thePakistan series at home in 2009, Kulasekara was the highest wicket-taker in the three-match test series. He received the man-of-the-match award for his bowling performance in the second test.[18] Sri Lanka won the series 2–0, and Kulasekara received the player-of-the-series award.[19][20] He took 17 wickets, for an average of 15.05 and an economy of 2.67.[21] His 4 for 37 is his third four-wicket haul in his last two tests.[22]
Kulasekara was on the 2009 World ODI team (captained byMS Dhoni), which was announced during theICC Awards.[23] On 23 May 2010against New Zealand, he ripped through New Zealand's batting with three wickets in his first over and ended with three for four runs. Sri Lanka won the match by seven wickets, and Kulasekara was man of the match.[24] He was named to the test squad for theWest Indies series in 2010.[25]
Kulasekara and Malinga spearheaded the Sri Lankan team since their debut in 2003 and 2004, where they combined to win matches. During a Twenty20 internationalagainst England in Bristol, they produced match-winning combined figures of three wickets for 30 runs in sevenovers. Sri Lanka won the match by nine wickets.[26]
Injured in October 2012, Kulasekara played in the semi-final of the fifty-over domestic tournament. He made a comeback with two for 37 in seven overs forColts Cricket Club againstNondescripts, and was recalled for the test and ODI seriesagainst South Africa.[27][28] Kulasekara did not play in the test series, but played all five ODIs without distinction; he took two wickets in the series, at an average of 107.00.[29]
After aCB series in Australia, he was recalled to the test squad for thePakistan series in 2012.[30] Kulasekara was the highest wicket-taker in the two-match T20I series against Pakistan, taking four wickets at an average of 6.50;[31] the series was drawn, 1-1. Kulasekara and Malinga took seven wickets apiece during the ODI series in Pakistan, which Sri Lanka won 3–0.[32]
In July 2012, Kulasekara was ruled out of the five-ODI seriesagainst India after a first-match injury while attempting a catch to dismissVirender Sehwag in the eleventh over.[33] On 25 October of that year, he was named as vice-captain of Sri Lanka's T20I squad for its touragainst New Zealand.[34]
On 18 January 2013, Kulasekara had his first (and only) five-wicket match withinswing bowling in the third ODIagainst Australia at Brisbane. His 5/22bowling figures were the best of his ODI career. Australia crumbled to 74all out, and Sri Lanka won by four wickets.[35] Kulasekara's performance was nominated as one of the best ODI bowling performances of 2013 by ESPNcricinfo.[36]
On 4 March 2012, he scored 74 against Australia for a close defeat in the first final of theCB Series.[37] Kulasekara was the second-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka with 12 wickets, behind Malinga's 18.[38]
On 13 June 2013, against England in2013 ICC Champions Trophy, Kulasekara helped skipperKumar Sangakkara score acentury and guided Sri Lanka to victory. Sangakkara and Kulasekara added an unbeaten 110 runs for the fourth wicket. In thepowerplay, Kulasekara launchedGraeme Swann's off-spin for two successive leg-sidesixes and continued to an unbeaten 58 from 38 balls. Soon after Sangakkara scored his hundred, he fell in mid-pitch while running. Recognizing the danger of beingrun out at the wicket-keeper's end, Kulasekara ran alongside him to ensure that he (not Sangakkara) would be run out.[39] After the Champions Trophy, Sri Lanka went to the West Indies for atriangular series with India. During the match against the West Indies, Kulasekara dislocated the ring finger of his left hand.[40]
After three weeks of resting, Kulasekara was called up for the T20I seriesagainst South Africa in 2013;[41] Sri Lanka lost the series, 2–1. At the end of an ODI series against Pakistan in theUAE, he tore a hamstring and missed the test series.[42] After he recovered, Kulasekara was included in theBangladesh series in Bangladesh. His form was off, however, and he missed part of the Bangladesh tour and the2014 Asia Cup with a groin injury. During the first ODI against Bangladesh, Kulasekara bowled six overs for 38 runs before he was injured.[43]
Kulasekara played in the ODI seriesagainst England in 2014, and Sri Lanka won the series 3–2. In the second ODI, he andSachithra Senanayakebowled-out England for 99 runs for their worst ODI showing at home. Kulasekara took 3 for 15 runs, and Sri Lanka finally won the match by 157 runs.[44]
During a 2014 ICC World Twenty20 match against the Netherlands, Kulasekara set a record for the most economical bowling spell in a T20I or T20 world-cup match (0.00). He bowled two overs without conceding a run; the Netherlands were bowled out for 43, the lowest T20I total.[45][46][47]
Kulasekara holds the world record for most T20I maiden overs bowled (six).[48] He was named toCricBuzz's 2014 T20I XI of the year for his limited-overs performance.[49] Kulasekara forged a bowling partnership with Malinga, helping Sri Lanka to win2014 ICC World Twenty20 by bowling four overs against strong Indian batters. Sri Lanka won 20 ODIs out of 32, a 62.5 winning percentage, that year.
Also in 2014, Sri Lanka went toIndia for an ODI series. They were whitewashed 5–0 in the series, the first such result in Sri Lanka cricket history.Rohit Sharma scored the highest individual ODI total (264); Kulasekara took 1 for 89 in nine overs, and missed theEngland series. On 30 December 2014, however, he was recalled to the ODI squad for the seriesagainst New Zealand at home.[50] Kulasekara was the T20 Bowler of the Year at the 2015 Sri Lanka Cricket Awards.[51] He was overlooked for the July seriesagainst Pakistan that year (after his World Cup campaign), but was recalled to the ODI squad for the seriesagainst the West Indies.[52]
On 18 December 2015, Kulasekara replaced the injuredDhammika Prasad on Sri Lanka's ODI squadagainst New Zealand.[53] Sri Lanka won only one match in the series, losing in all three formats. In the first ODI, Kulasekara scored his fourth ODI fifty; he andMilinda Siriwardana formed a partnership with 98 runs. He was dismissed for 58 runs, and Sri Lanka scored a total of 188; New Zealand won the match by seven wickets.[54] He played in2016 Asia Cup and then2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India,[55]
On 5 November 2016, Kulasekara was recalled for thetri-series with Zimbabwe and the West Indies;[56] he picked up two wickets against West Indies to go with his two in the first match against Zimbabwe.[57] Sri Lanka won the series by defeating Zimbabwe in the final, and Kulasekara took one wicket in that final. He was the third-highest wicket-taker in the series, with eight wickets and an average of 22.50.[58] During the Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka in 2017, Kulasekara helped Sri Lanka end their ODI drought by taking four wickets for 37 runs; Sri Lanka won the third ODI match by 70 runs.[59]
I was going to announce my retirement straight after the World Cup but Lasith Malinga made a special request during the world cup to play alongside me in his final game. As such, I wanted to see if there was any way to make that happen. That's why my retirement announcement was delayed. It was because of Lasith's request that I also made a request to SLC, to see if there was a possibility of being selected in a farewell match. But I don't think it fit in with SLC's plans as I haven't heard back from them.
I had the privilege of representing Sri Lanka in every major ICC event between 2007-2014, where the team played in two 50-over World Cup finals, three T20 World Cup finals, including our victorious one in 2014 against India. I was honoured to be the vice-captain of this World Cup-winning team. I represented my team and nation with the highest amount of pride and admiration; nothing was more important to me than seeing Sri Lanka at the top of world cricket. I have no regrets, every day that I played cricket I was happy, and I leave the sport happily.
On 1 June 2016, Kulasekara announced his retirement from test cricket to focus on limited-over internationals. He played 21 tests, picked up 48 wickets, and played his last test in June 2014 at Lord's (a draw).
During the2019 Cricket World Cup, fellow Sri LankanpacerLasith Malinga had hinted that he would like to retire from ODI cricket with Kulasekara.[61] However, Sri Lanka Cricket and the selection committee and omitted only Kulasekara from the ODI squad for the Bangladesh tour. Kulasekara sent a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket asking them to consider Malinga's request to play a farewell match together;[62] after receiving no reply, he announced his retirement from international cricket on 24 July 2019.[63]
Malinga also announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the first ODI series in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka Cricket announced that the third ODI of the series would be dedicated to Kulasekara.[5][6] Sri Lanka won the match, shutting out Bangladesh in the series 3–0.[64]
Kulasekara used a long run–up and the seam to move both ways to trouble the batsman. Primarily aninswing bowler, he was seldom overly aggressive to batsmen.[66] Kulasekara also developed anoutswinger delivery.[67]
On 29 April 2009, Kulasekara was called to theKings XI Punjab squad as an emergency replacement for injured Australian batsmanShaun Marsh.[68] He joined theChennai Super Kings for the2011 Indian Premier League season.[69]
Kulasekara played in the domestic T20I series forKandurata Maroons. In the final, againstBasnahira Greens, he took a match-winning three wickets. Kandurata won the match by seven wickets, and was selected for the2013 Champions League Twenty20.[70] Kulasekara played forComilla Victorians in theBangladesh Premier League in2015.[71] During the match againstRangpur Riders on 27 November 2015, he took four wickets for 12 runs.[72] In 2016, Kulasekara signed a short-termNatWest T20 Blast contract with theSussex Sharks.[73]
He was appointed as the bowling coach of the Kandy Tuskers franchise for the2020 Lanka Premier League which also marks his maiden coaching stint in his career.[74][75]
Kulasekara was detained byKadawatha police on 19 September 2016 after he was involved in a road accident which killed a 28-year-old motorcyclist.[76][77] He appeared before theMahara magistrate, and was released onLKR 500,000 bail.[78][79] The accident occurred near theKirillawala junction in Kadawatha during the afternoon; the rider was approaching Kulasekara's vehicle, passed a bus, struck an embankment in the centre of the road, and was thrown into the path of Kulasekara's vehicle.[80]
