A 15-member squad has been named to contest the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals in Sri Lanka from September 23 to 29 at the SSC and NCC grounds in Colombo.
The six previous years of the competition have served as a stepping stone for international cricket stars such as Niroshan Dickwella, KL Rahul, Lungi Ngidi and UAE’s Chirag Suri.
Campus teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and the UAE will contest the matches. The teams have qualified for the event by winning inter-campus tournaments in their respective countries.
Tournament director Brendon Kuruppu - former international cricketer for Sri Lanka expects this year’s World Finals to be the most competitive. “Every year we have played this tournament, the quality of competition has increased and I am sure we will see this trend continue this year,” Kuruppu said.
“The Sri Lankan campus cricket tournament was especially intense and this will be doubly true for the World Finals. There is nothing like the heat of tough competition to help young cricketers hone their skills and raise their level of play. That’s the kind of environment the Campus Cricket World Finals provide.”
Campus cricket was devised as a means to bridge the existing gap between school cricket and senior cricket and to provide budding players with the opportunity to continue developing their game while engaging in higher studies.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Roshan Mahanama is the Goodwill Ambassador for the global tournament.
Sri Lanka Campus squad:
Koshan Danushka, Madushan Ravichandrakumar, Niroshan Dickwella, Leo Francisco, Wanindu Hasaranga, Janith Liyanage, Dinuk Wickremanayake, Chamika Karunaratne, Supeshala Jayatilleke, Malinda Maduranga, Devind Pathmanathan, Mishane Silva, Ranitha Liyanaarachchie, Pramod Madushan and Amila Aponsu