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Full name : Dihan Avishka Gunawardene |
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An explosive left-hand opener in the mould of Sanath Jayasuriya, Gunawardene lives on the wild side. He first made headlines at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, scoring a century and top-scoring in the semi-final defeat to South Africa. A few months later, deputising for Jayasuriya, he smashed 145 off 20 overs with Kaluwitharana in an audacious attempt to reach 311 against Australia at Melbourne. He scored a career-best 132 against West Indies in the ICC Knockout in 2000. But impetuous dismissals and inconsistency prevented him from securing a regular berth. However, the appointment of a new selection committee in 2004 paved the way for his recall and he leapfrogged ahead of other fringe players. An opportunity finally came when Atapattu was rested in the Asia Cup and he grabbed his chance with an important half-century.
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