Patabendige, Mahamarakkala Kurukulasooriya another name Akila Dananjaya Perera, better known by his nickname Akila Dananjaya, was born on October 4, 1993. He is a professional cricketer from Sri Lanka who used to play for the national side in all of the different tournament formats. When he was bowling against West Indies in March 2021, Kieron Pollard hit him for the maximum of six sixes in an over, making him the only bowler in history to achieve both a hat-trick and a maximum of six sixes in a single over.
His bowling motion was ruled to be unlawful in December 2018, which resulted in his being barred from bowling in international matches. However, his suspension was eventually lifted, and he was allowed to play again in March 2019. Following the conclusion that Dananjaya’s bowling action was once again in violation of the rules, the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided in September 2019 to ban him from bowling in international matches for twelve months.
A sanction is imposed for failing a biomechanical evaluation during two years on two separate occasions. As of the 8th of January 2021, he was permitted to bowl once again in international cricket. Dananjaya, who was born in Moratuwa and is the son of a carpenter, attended the Moratuwa Maha Vidyalaya Panadura Mahanama Navodya Vidyalaya in Panadura throughout his education. Only two days before his return to the one-day international squad for the second one-day international against India, he tied the knot with his longtime lover, Nethalie Tekshini, on August 22, 2017.
At the wedding, which took place at the Ramadia Ran Mal Holiday Resort in Moratuwa, two spinners named Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis signed as witnesses. Wayamba United, the team that will compete in the first-ever Sri Lanka Premier League, has chosen him to play for them. Even though this was just his second match for the club, he grabbed three wickets and eighteen runs against Nagenahira Nagas. He was able to constantly disrupt the batters with his flight, googly, and other variations.
Akila Dananjaya Biography
Name | Akila Dananjaya |
Full Name | Mahamarakkala Kurukulasooriya Patabendige Akila Dananjaya Perera |
Date of Birth | 4 October 1993 |
Place of Birth | Panadura, Sri Lanka |
Other Names | NA |
Nationality | Srilankan |
Father’s Name | Sunil Perera |
Mother’s Name | NA |
Siblings | NA |
Spouse | Nethalie Tekshini |
Marriage Date | 22 August 2017 |
Children | NA |
Role | Batting |
Batting | Right-handed |
Bowling | Right-arm off-break, Right-arm leg break |
ODI Debut | November 12, 2012 vs. New Zealand |
Test Debut | February 08, 2018, vs. Bangladesh |
Favourite Food | NA |
Favourite Actor | NA |
Favourite Actress | NA |
Favourite Colour | Blue |
Retirement | Still Playing |
The Chennai Super Kings purchased Dananjaya in the auctions held for the Indian Premier League in 2013, paying a basic fee of $20,000. It was in January of 2018 when the Mumbai Indians made the purchase of him at the 2018 Indian Premier League auction. The announcement of his inclusion in Galle’s team for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament came in March of 2018. The announcement of his inclusion in the Colombo team for the 2018 SLC T20 League came in August of 2018.
The announcement that he will be a member of the Colombo team for the 2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament came in March of this year. The Galle Gladiators selected him in the draft for the first-ever Lanka Premier League competition, which took place in October 2020. The SLC Reds side that he was selected to play for in the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League event was announced in August of the same year. Off-break bowler and left-handed batsman, he is said to have seven variations, including the leg-break, googly, carrom ball, doosra, and his stock off-spinner.
Which had impressed national team captain Mahela Jayawardene so much in the nets that Jayawardene requested that he be fast-tracked into the national squad. He is officially a left-hand batsman and an off-break bowler. Then, Dhananjaya had not participated in any first-class, List A, Twenty20, or even U-19 cricket matches. Based on net performance, this resulted in the media calling his selection into doubt, which in turn led to controversy. Because of this, they were able to secure a spot in the final roster for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in 2012.
In a World Twenty20 pool match that took place in Pallekele, he made his first appearance for the national team when he was 18 years old. The match was against New Zealand. Rob Nicol, the New Zealand opener, delivered a full-blooded drive that smacked him in the face of the left side of his face. The ball went through his hands and whacked him in the face. Therefore, he did not participate in the pool match against West Indies because X-rays and MRI scans indicated that he had sustained a fracture on his left cheekbone as a consequence of the hit.
Batting & Fielding Stats
YEAR | MAT | NO | RUNS | HS | AVG | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4S | 6S | CT | ST |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Career | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4* | – | 5 | 80.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2018 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4* | 0.00 | 5 | 80.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bowling
YEAR | MAT | BALLS | RUNS | WKTS | BBM | AVE | ECON | SR | 4W | 5W |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Career | 1 | 24 | 47 | 0 | 0/47 | – | 11.75 | – | 0 | 0 |
2018 | 1 | 24 | 47 | 0 | 0/47 | – | 11.75 | – | 0 | 0 |
After a hiatus of five years, Dananjaya was brought back into the One-Day International team for the tour of Zimbabwe in 2017. He made his first wicket in a One-Day International (ODI) match by dismissing Craig Ervine in the opening match of the series. It was on August 24, 2017, at Pallekele Cricket Stadium that he grabbed his first five-wicket haul in a One-Day International match against India. The number of deliveries that his fifer took in a span of thirteen is the highest for a Sri Lankan player in one-day internationals as well.
He left the Indian batsmen in a state of confusion. After the match, India emerged victorious by a margin of three wickets, and Dananjaya’s bowling numbers of six wickets for fifty-four remain as the greatest bowling figures ever recorded by a Sri Lankan player in a losing cause. He was named man of the match for his outstanding bowling effort, even though they were defeated. Sri Lanka’s Test squad for the tour of Bangladesh in 2018 included Dhananjaya as a member of the team.
During the second test match, which took place at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium on February 8, 2018, he made his debut in the test match against Bangladesh. By ending with respectable statistics of 3/20, he was able to limit Bangladesh to 110 runs by taking his maiden wicket in a test match, which was Mahmudullah, during the first innings of Bangladesh’s innings. He then grabbed two more wickets.