10 Facts about Romesh Kaluwitharana - The Dynamic Sri Lankan wicket-keeper

The key batsman and wicket-keeper of Sri Lanka’s World Cup 1996 winning team, Romesh Kaluwitharana also helped revolutionize opening batting in ODI cricket along with Sanath Jayasuriya. A fearless approach to batting by these two in the initial stages of an ODI innings remains a benchmark for the future openers. They showed the world the impact of explosive batting with the field restrictions on. The devastating batsman was also a sound wicket-keeper and a regular member of the Sri Lankan Test team.

1. Birth:  

Romesh Kaluwitharana was born on 24^th November 1969 in Colombo.

2. Early impressions:

Kaluwitharana endured a tough beginning having lost his father at the age of 5 and was raised by his mother. He studied at St. Sebastian College in Moratuwa. Duleep Mendis, one of Sri Lanka’s all-time greats is an alumnus of that school. In 1987, he had played for Sri Lanka Young Cricketers against an England team. ‘Kalu’ was a part of the Sri Lankan side for The McDonald’s Bicentennial Youth World Cup 1988; played in Australia this tournament was a precursor to the ICC under-19 World Cup.

3. ODI career:

He made his ODI debut against India at Margao in Goa on 8^th December 1990. He did not get to bat as Sri Lanka won the match by 7 wickets however took 1 catch during India’s innings. He played 189 ODIs for his country scoring 3711 runs with the help of 2 centuries and 23 fifties. His career best is 102* against England at the SSC in Colombo in 2001.

4. Memorable Test debut:

He is only one of the 3 wicket-keepers to score a century on Test debut. He became the second one to do it after his countryman Brendon Kuruppu scored 201 not out on Test debut against New Zealand in 1987. Kalu hammered 132* in his first Test innings against Australia in August 1992 at the SSC. His 132 off just 158 balls included 26 fours. Only Matt Prior has since then scored a hundred on Test debut as a keeper. This knock of 132* remained his best batting performance in Test cricket.

5. Test career:

He played 49 Tests scoring 1933 runs including 3 tons and 9 fifties at an average of 26.12. He also took 93 catches and 26 stumpings. He was admired by cricket experts for his unorthodox wicket-keeping style which helped him grab a lot of dismissals.

6. Looking up to Viv Richards:

He looked up to the West Indian great Viv Richards since his young days. In an interview with Ten Cricket he once said, “I used to love West Indies very much. I used to love Vivian Richards. He was my legend at the time. I used to watch a lot of cricket, read about him. But, unfortunately, I could not be another Richards. He was just brilliant.”

7. 1995-96 tour of Australia:

He was promoted to the top of the batting order to partner opener Sanath Jayasuriya during the 1995–96 tour of Australia to showcase an aggressive approach in the first fifteen overs of fielding restrictions. This new strategy proved successful for Sri Lanka as they qualified for the finals of the tri-series also featuring the West Indies. Kalu made an impact by scoring three fifties in this series. He only scored 73 runs in six matches in the World Cup 1996 giving a couple of brisk stars however his wicket-keeping was brilliantly consistent throughout the campaign.

8. Scoring zero in an opening partnership of 70:

In the Singer Cup final against Pakistan in 1996 at the Padang, Singapore, Jayasuriya smashed his way to the then fastest fifty in ODIs off 17 balls. Kalu remained quiet and was dismissed for a duck with the team score on 70.

9. Kalu’s Hideaway:

He owns a hotel called Kalu’s Hideaway which is located near the Uda Walawa National Park in Sri Lanka. He also worked with an insurance company and with Sri Lanka Tourism.

10. Coaching:

He was a part of the Evaluate China programme under the ACC. In 2008, he was appointed the coach of Malaysia. Currently, he is coaching the Sri Lanka A team.