Mahela Jayawardene is more than a mentor to me: Akila Dananjaya

Sri Lanka’s new spin sensation in Akila Dananjaya, who rose to fame courtesy his jaw-dropping spell of 6/54 against India, provides the Sri Lankan fans a glimmer of hope to bring resurrection in the nation’s declining prowess in the game of cricket. The 24-year old made his debut way back in 2012 under the captaincy of Mahela Jayawardene in the T-20 World Cup in many controversial circumstances.

It is after six years that he has been given the due opportunity to showcase his talent on the world stage. As a result of his spell that made Indian batsmen dance on his tunes, he was picked up the Mumbai Indians for INR 50 lakhs to add a mystery spinner in their ranks.

Jayawardene has had a huge role to play

There were no prizes for guessing that his inclusion in the Mumbai Indians’ setup was more on the advice of their head coach. The Sri Lankan legend has played a huge role in the youngster’s career given his return to the professional career after 2012, happened under Mahela’s captaincy for Wayamba United in Sri Lankan Premier League.

The off-spinner possesses quality when it comes to his effective variations with the ball. He has the ability to bowl leg-spin, googly, doosra and the off-spin. It was his quality and control over each variation that struck Mahela and Trevor Bayliss, the coach at Wayamba United.

Appreciated by Trevor Bayliss

“What’s been really good to see is his temperament, for a guy who hasn’t played at this level before. The control with which he bowls his various deliveries is impressive, but he’s also shown a lot of poise at the big moments, and a tendency to ignore what’s going on around him and do what he does,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The coach reckons that the challenges lie ahead of the youngster when batsmen will find a way to make out his variations with the ball. Akila, in his 19 ODIs and 15 T20Is for Sri Lanka, hasn’t done enough justice to his ability so far but it is too early to write him off.

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