Nuwan Thushara creating waves for his Malinga-like bowling action

Sri Lanka has a history of producing maverick cricketers over the years. The advent of Muralitharan and later Ajantha Mendis floored batsmen all around the world as it took them a while to unfold the mystery of both these bowlers. Then, they had Lasith Malinga, who is an epitome of unorthodoxies.

Thushara shows his mettle in U23 tournament

An upcoming fast bowler Nuwan Thushara has a lot of similarities to Malinga. He bowls at pace and has a slingy action – almost replicating Malinga. He is only 22 years of age and has made his first-class debut for SSC in late 2015. Unfortunately, he could send down just 6 overs on his debut and remained wicketless. He has also appeared in 2 T20s for SSC, picking 2 wickets at 16 apiece in early 2016. Since then, though, he was never picked to play by SSC.

Currently, Thushara is piling his trade in SLC U23 Inter-Provincial Tournament 2017. In a recent video of the fast bowler, in the finals of the tournament held at CCC grounds, he seems to generate good speeds at a consistent rate and is a decent exponent of the yorker. His natural movement is the away swinger.

Young bowler looks up to Malinga

Thushara idolizes Malinga, who has been a legend for Sri Lanka in limited overs cricket. His recent exploits in the U23 tournament might pave the way for a return to first-class cricket as he has palpable talent which needs to be nurtured at the domestic level.

It has been tough times for Lasith Malinga of late as his career has been marred by injuries. He recently returned to the ODI setup after spending two years out of the team. His form hasn’t been the same as it used to be a couple of years ago but he still plays a vital role for Sri Lanka and the various franchises he is a part of around the world.