ONE: ESPNcricnfo staff:
Tharanga Paranavitana, the 38-year old Sri Lanka batsman, has announced his retirement from international cricket. Known as an old-school opener, he played 32 Test matches for his country, scoring 1792 runs including two hundreds and 11 fifties.
Paranavitana’s method brought him great success, especially in domestic cricket. With 12,522 runs, he is Sri Lanka’s highest ever run-getter in first-class cricket and even added a half-century to his tally since the domestic season re-started after the Covid-19 induced break.
The ability to score big runs put Paranavitana on the senior team’s radar in the late 2000s. The left-hander made a career-best 236 for Sinhalese Sports Club in their title winning season in 2007-08 and that booked him a place on the Sri Lanka A team’s tour of South Africa. It was after that tour that former coach Chandika Hathurusingha called him a future prospect.
Paranavitana made his Test debut against Pakistan in February 2009. He scored both of his hundreds in back-to-back Tests against India in 2010, and although he managed a string of half-centuries thereafter, the three-figure mark kept eluding him. He played his final game for Sri Lanka in November 2012.
TWO: Daily Mirror: “Paranavitana retires” https://srilankamirror.com/news/19356-tharanga-paranavitana-retires
Former Sri Lanka Test opener Tharanga Paranavitana has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Paranavitana leaves with 1792 runs to his name from 32 Tests at an average of 32.58.
The left-handed batsman arrived at the international scene as a promising batsman – per the then head coach Chandika Hathurusingha – on the back of a sensational domestic season for the Sinhalese Sports Club. He scored a double hundred and amassed 893 runs over the 2007-08 season that earned his team the domestic title.
Soon enough, Paranavitana was called up to the national squad for the ill-fated tour of Pakistan in 2009. He made his debut in the first Test in Karachi, but was one of the Sri Lankan players injured in the terror attack on their team bus in Lahore. He overcame that trauma and continued to forge a fairly successful Test career. Both his centuries in the longest format came in the same series – in back-to-back home Tests against India in 2010.
Paranavitana made his last Test appearance in the home game against New Zealand in November 2012, paving the way for Dimuth Karunaratne to open the innings alongside Tillakaratne Dilshan just a month later in Australia.
Paranavitana’s international career could only last between 2009 and 2012, but he signed off as a domestic giant – with nearly 15,000 runs, and 40 centuries to his name in first class cricket.
(cricbuzz.com)
THREE: His STATS
| Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s | Ct | St | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 32 | 60 | 5 | 1792 | 111 | 32.58 | 4274 | 41.92 | 2 | 11 | 206 | 5 | 27 | 0 |
| First-class | 222 | 362 | 36 | 14940 | 236 | 45.82 | 29041 | 51.44 | 40 | 69 | 216 | 0 | ||
| List A | 130 | 128 | 20 | 4620 | 118 | 42.77 | 6290 | 73.44 | 8 | 30 | 68 | 0 | ||
| T20s | 29 | 29 | 2 | 642 | 67* | 23.77 | 496 | 129.43 | 0 | 5 | 72 | 19 | 12 | 0 |
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 32 | 6 | 102 | 86 | 1 | 1/26 | 1/26 | 86.00 | 5.05 | 102.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| First-class | 222 | 2902 | 1506 | 37 | 4/39 | 40.70 | 3.11 | 78.4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| List A | 130 | 1178 | 952 | 20 | 4/25 | 4/25 | 47.60 | 4.84 | 58.9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| T20s | 29 | 13 | 96 | 117 | 4 | 1/3 | 1/3 | 29.25 | 7.31 | 24.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Test debut | Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Karachi, Feb 21-25, 2009 scorecard |
| Last Test | Sri Lanka v New Zealand at Colombo (PSS), Nov 25-29, 2012 scorecard |
| Test statistics | – Statsguru Test analysis – Player analysis menu/filter Test match list ——————————— Batting career summary Batting innings list High scores Batting series averages ——————————— Bowling career summary Bowling innings list Bowling match list Best innings bowling Best match bowling Bowling series averages ——————————— Fielding career summary Fielding innings list Most catches in an innings Fielding series statistics |
| First-class debut | 2001/02 |
| Last First-class | Negombo Cricket Club v Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club at Colombo (Colts), Aug 22-24, 2020 scorecard |
| List A debut | 2001/02 |
| Last List A | Sinhalese Sports Club v Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club at Colombo (NCC), Dec 28, 2019 scorecard |
| T20s debut | Colombo Cricket Club v Sinhalese Sports Club at Colombo (Bloomfield), Oct 16, 2005 scorecard |
| Last T20s | Wayamba United v Kandurata Warriors at Colombo (RPS), Aug 24, 2012 |
