Tharindu Rathnayake: I switch bowling arm according to weakness of batters

"I don't know which arm I've taken more wickets with," says Tharindu Rathnayake of his wicket tally in domestic cricket. "I've never looked at it properly. I've bowled a lot with both my arms."

If this seems like bragging, Rathnayake continues to speak as if being able to bowl with either arm is a normal experience to which anyone could relate. It must seem natural to him, though - he has 337 first-class wickets, and 122 List A dismissals.

"When I started first-class cricket, I bowled a lot with my left arm. But later, after a couple of years, it became about 60% right arm, and 40% left arm."

Right, so why, on day one of his debut Test, against Bangladesh in Galle, did Rathnayake bowl 15.5 overs of right-arm offbreaks before he tried his first ball of left-arm spin?

"I just felt that the ball that turns into the batter is harder for them to face because this wicket is suited to the batters. When you bowl right-arm offspin against right-handed batters with the red ball, it's not easy for them to play. When I bowl offspin, I also have more options with the fields I can set. With left-arm spin, because the wicket is not behaving as we want it to, they can put the ball into gaps, and they have more scoring options."

To what extent Rathnayake knows this unusual craft is not clear yet. Unlike Kamindu Mendis, the other ambidextrous spinner in the side, Rathnayake is primarily a bowler. In the match-ups age, though, being able to bowl with either arm could be a supremely useful skill. Rathnayake seems to be aware of that potential.

"Before we come to the match, in our planning, we talked about what each batsman is better at facing, and which sides they hit to," he said. "So I try to create plans around their weaknesses, and change which arm I'm bowling with according to that."

Though Rathnayake claimed two wickets - both left-handers caught at slip against his offbreaks - in his first session of Test cricket, he said the Galle pitch got better to bat on through the day.

"There was a little moisture early on, but it dried out. There wasn't much spin. I'm expecting it to stay good until day four."