The first thing Tharanga Paranavitana, one of the two centurions (the other being skipper Kumar Sangakkara) did at Galle, was to call his one-time "shadow coach" Chandika Hathurusinghe immediately after stumps on Day One against India yesterday
The first thing Tharanga Paranavitana, one of the two centurions (the other being skipper Kumar Sangakkara) did at Galle, was to call his one-time "shadow coach" Chandika Hathurusinghe immediately after stumps on Day One against India yesterday.
"It was an emotional call by him, minutes after the first day's play," Hathurusinghe said, without going into details.
The former Lanka batsman, was instrumental in the centurion's progress. "I did not spot him, but his performance at the domestic level was so impressive that I could not resist saying that he was a future star," said Hathurusinghe.u00a0 Paranavitana made his international debut in a Test match against Pakistan in 2009. "I am very happy for him today because he deserved this ton. He is doing well in international cricket and many more hundreds will follow," said Hathurusinghe.
Paranavitana was heavy scorer in schools cricket. From 1999 to 2001, he scored over 1000 runs every season.
He went on to score a mind-boggling seven centuries withu00a0 200 as highest. After school, he joined Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) where he went from strength to strength.
Hathurusinghe said he may be tempted to drive to Galle to watch his ward continue in the same vein. "Former players have an open invitation to watch the Galle Test. I might go there," he signed off.
The writer is a freelancer
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