Wanindu Hasaranga

Wanindu Hasaranga player profile

A bruising lower-middle order batsman, and an aggressive legbreak bowler, Wanidu Hasaranga graduated from a strong Richmond College outfit, had a fine run in Sri Lanka's 2015 and 2016 Under-19 teams, and has made a promising start to his domestic cricket career.

Though it was his bowling that largely impressed at the Under-19 level - he claimed a particularly impactful 3 for 34 in the 2016 Youth World Cup quarter-final against England - batting was Hasaranga's stronger suit in his first two seasons of senior cricket. Hasaranga made a rapid 87 on first-class debut with Ports Authority Cricket Club, and, having switched to Colombo Cricket Club, hit 586 runs at an average of 39.06 and a strike rate of 93 in the 2017 Premier League Tournament.

When this first-class runs tally was followed by a stretch of good bowling form in List A domestic tournaments, Hasaranga piqued the national selectors' interest. He was chosen in Sri Lanka's squad for the first two one-dayers against Zimbabwe in June 2017, with his fielding also cited as a reason for his selection. And what a debut it subsequently was; he became the third debutant in ODI history to claim a hat-trick when he wiped out Zimbabwe's tail with the 14th, 15th and 16th deliveries of his international career.
Andrew Fidel Fernando

Wanindu Hasaranga IPL factfile

- Wanindu Hasaranga first played the IPL in 2021, when Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked him as a replacement for Adam Zampa for the second leg of the tournament, in the UAE.

- He went wicketless across six overs in two games in his debut season, but had an outstanding outing in 2022. RCB paid INR 10.75 crore to him at the auction, and Hasaranga, who played all 16 games on their way to Qualifier 2, got 26 wickets. That was the most by an RCB bowler that season. But he played only eight games for RCB in 2023, and did well to bag nine wickets at an average of 28.66.

- However, Hasaranga was released by RCB ahead of IPL 2024, when he was then bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 1.5 crore. But a chronic heel pain in his left foot forced him to miss the tournament. Come the mega auction for 2025, Hasaranga was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for INR 5.25 crore.