Ashen Bandara

Koralegedera Nadeeja Ashen Bandara (born 23 November 1998), known as Ashen Bandara, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who plays limited over internationals for Sri Lanka.^[1] He made his international debut for the Sri Lanka cricket team in March 2021.^[2] His fielding is exceptional and many times he has served as the substitute fielder for Sri Lanka cricket team.

Ashen Bandara

Personal information
Full name	Koralegedera Nadeeja Ashen Bandara
Born	(1998-11-23) 23 November 1998 (age 25) Galle, Sri Lanka
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm leg break
Role	Batting All-rounder
International information
National side	Sri Lanka (2021-present)
ODI debut (cap 193)	10 March 2021 v West Indies
Last ODI	15 January 2023 v India
T20I debut (cap 85)	3 March 2021 v West Indies
Last T20I	23 October 2022 v Ireland
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2018–present	Galle
2020	Dambulla Viiking
2021	Jaffna Kings
2022	Kandy Falcons
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I FC Matches 6 6 27 Runs scored 141 84 1,281 Batting average 35.25 28.00 38.81 100s/50s 0/2 0/0 1/8 Top score 55* 44* 106 Balls bowled 6 6 418 Wickets 0 0 6 Bowling average – – 47.83 5 wickets in innings – – 0 10 wickets in match – – 0 Best bowling – – 2/4 Catches/stumpings 3/– 2/– 24/–
Source: Cricinfo, 19 January 2023
Medal record Representing  Sri Lanka Men's Cricket South Asian Games 2019 Kathmandu/Pokhara Team

Domestic career

Ashen Bandara started his cricket career at his school St. Aloysius' College, Galle. He made his Twenty20 debut for Galle Cricket Club in the 2015–16 Premier T20 Tournament on 6 January 2016.^[3]

In December 2017, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.^[4] He made his first-class debut for Saracens Sports Club in the 2017–18 Premier League Tournament on 15 February 2018.^[5] He made his List A debut for Saracens Sports Club in the 2017–18 Premier Limited Overs Tournament on 14 March 2018.^[6]

In March 2018, he was named in Galle's squad for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament.^[7][8] The following month, he was also named in Galle's squad for the 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.^[9] In August 2018, he was named in Colombo's squad the 2018 SLC T20 League.^[10] In March 2019, he was named in Dambulla's squad for the 2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.^[11]

In January 2020, he scored a century for Saracens Sports Club in the 2019–20 SLC Twenty20 Tournament.^[12] In October 2020, he was drafted by the Dambulla Viiking for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.^[13] In August 2021, he was named in the SLC Blues team for the 2021 SLC Invitational T20 League tournament.^[14] In November 2021, he was selected to play for the Jaffna Kings following the players' draft for the 2021 Lanka Premier League.^[15] In July 2022, he was signed by the Kandy Falcons for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League.^[16]

Having represented the Sri Lanka Police cricket team that won joint champion status in the 2023 Sri Lanka Cricket first-class competition, Bandara was appointed to the police service in the rank of inspector of police (IP).^[17]

International career

In November 2019, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh.^[18] Later the same month, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the men's cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games.^[19] The Sri Lanka team won the silver medal, after they lost to Bangladesh by seven wickets in the final.^[20]

In February 2021, Bandara was named in Sri Lanka's limited overs squad for their series against the West Indies.^[21] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut for Sri Lanka on 3 March 2021, against the West Indies.^[22] He made his One Day International (ODI) debut for Sri Lanka on 10 March 2021, also against the West Indies.^[23] On ODI debut, he scored his maiden ODI half century.^[24] In his third ODI match, he scored his second ODI half century, and with Wanidu Hasaranga, made an unbeaten 123-run partnership for the seventh-wicket.^[25]

On 1 October 2021, he was added to Sri Lanka's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.^[26] In April 2022, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named him in the Sri Lanka Emerging Team's squad for their tour to England.^[27] In June 2022, he was named in the Sri Lanka A squad for their matches against Australia A during Australia's tour of Sri Lanka.^[28]

References

1. "Five lesser-known Sri Lanka players who can make a difference against India". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
2. "Ashen Bandara". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
3. "Group B, AIA Premier T20 Tournament at Colombo, Jan 6 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
4. "U-19 Cricket: Kamindu to lead Sri Lanka U19s at ICC Youth WC". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
5. "Super Eight, Premier League Tournament Tier A at Colombo, Feb 15-18 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
6. "Group A, Premier Limited Over Tournament at Panagoda, Mar 14 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
7. "Cricket: Mixed opinions on Provincial tournament". Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
8. "All you need to know about the SL Super Provincial Tournament". Daily Sports. 26 March 2018. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
9. "SLC Super Provincial 50 over tournament squads and fixtures". The Papare. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
10. "SLC T20 League 2018 squads finalized". The Papare. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
11. "Squads, Fixtures announced for SLC Provincial 50 Overs Tournament". The Papare. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
12. "Ashen, Asitha and Lasanda light up SLC Invitational T20". The Papare. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
13. "Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shahid Afridi among big names taken at LPL draft". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
14. "Sri Lanka Cricket announce Invitational T20 squads and schedule". The Papare. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
15. "Kusal Perera, Angelo Mathews miss out on LPL drafts". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
16. "LPL 2022 draft: Kandy Falcons sign Hasaranga; Rajapaksa to turn out for Dambulla Giants". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
17. "Four Sri Lankan cricketers join Sri Lanka Police". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
18. "Sri Lanka squad for Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2019 announced". The Papare. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
19. "SLC Men's and Women's squads for SAG 2019 announced". The Papare. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
20. "South Asian Games: Bangladesh secure gold in men's cricket". BD News24. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
21. "Shanaka named as Sri Lankan T20I captain for West Indies tour". BD Crictime. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
22. "1st T20I (N), Coolidge, Mar 3 2021, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
23. "1st ODI, North Sound, Mar 10 2021, Sri Lanka tour of West Indies". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
24. "Shai Hope century leads dominant display as Windies take 1-0 series lead". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
25. "Darren Bravo ton, Kieron Pollard composure seals 3-0 sweep despite Wanindu Hasaranga efforts". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
26. "Sri Lanka World Cup Squad: 5 additional players to join". Sri Lanka Cricket. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
27. "18-member Sri Lanka Emerging Team for England tour finalized". The Papare. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
28. "Sri Lanka 'A' squads announced for Australia 'A' games". The Papare. Retrieved 8 June 2022.

External links

• Ashen Bandara at ESPNcricinfo

--