By A Special Correspondent
COLOMBO – Jaffna Stallions completed a three-day residential cricket camp on Sunday (15) at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium becoming the first franchise in the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL) to hold a full-blown training session before moving to Hambantota.
It was held under the guidance and leadership of head coach Thilina Kandamby and skipper Thisara Perera. The Jaffna coaching staff also consists of Hemang Badani as Consultant, Mario Villavarayan as Trainer cum Fast Bowling Coach, Sachith Pathirana as Spin Bowling Coach and Vimukthi Deshapriya as Fielding and Throwdowns Coach.
The team has a total of 20 cricketers with 14 Sri Lankan and six international players. Jaffna Stallions is one of the most balanced teams in the tournament because of the strength of its all-rounders who happen to be experienced local and international players.
Among them are Wanindu Hasaranga, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Binura Fernando, Minod Bhanuka, Chaturanga de Silva, Mahesh Theekshana, Charith Asalanka and Nuvinidu Fernando.
Jaffna Stallions is probably the only franchise to include three home grown young cricketers namely Kanagaratnam Kapilraj, Theivendiram Dinoshan and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, to the 2020 LPL to be played in Hambantota from November 26 to December 16.
“The inclusion of three Jaffna-born youngsters in our team is testimony to the kind of cricketing talent this province has. It is also an encouragement to the cricketing community of Jaffna and rural cricketers across the island. I am confident that LPL will further boost cricketing interest among young cricketers and offer real opportunities in the future. Our consortium shall strive to work beyond the LPL matches and make real grass roots progress to help the development of cricket in Jaffna. We hope one day one of our kids will play at national and international level,” said Jaffna Stallions CEO Selva Waran.
The youngest of the three, Dinoshan is an 18-year-old all-rounder of St. John’s College, Jaffna. Vice captain of St. John’s, Dinoshan has a double century to his credit in school cricket and spearheads the bowling attack. He also represented the Dambulla Under-19 team as a middle-order batsman and a paceman in the Super Provincial Tournament in 2019, organised by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
Viyaskanth, 19, from Jaffna Central College represented Sri Lanka Under 19 in 2018. A middle order batsman and leg spinner, he captained Jaffna Central in 2020 and was adjudged the man-of-the-match and best bowler of the 113th Battle of the North encounter in 2019. He turned out for the Under 19 teams of Northern Province and Team Dambulla before representing Sri Lanka Under 19.
Kabilraj, 21, is an old boy St. John’s College, Jaffna. A medium pace bowler, he claimed 10 wickets each in 2017 and 2018 in the Battle of the North ‘big match’. He represented Sri Lanka Under 19 in 2019 against India and Australia and represents Police Sports Club in the SLC Under 23 tournament.
Kandamby commented that he is happy to start training well ahead of the LPL tournament as it allows the team members to get to know each others’ strengths.
“It is always important to train together so we can draw up a sound plan for LPL. These sessions are important to physically and mentally prepare ourselves for the tournament,” said Kandamby with confidence.
Former Sri Lanka limited overs skipper Thisara Perera also agreed that early training will give them a competitive edge over other teams of the LPL.
“It is very important that we start our training early. This will help us to uplift team spirit and face the fierce competition of the LPL. I’m also happy to see three young and talented Jaffna based cricketers joining the training session. All the senior players are keen to assist them,” Perera stated.
Upon completing the training, the team set out to Hambantota to gear up for the upcoming LPL tournament. The training session will be conducted with the entire coaching and support staff set to participate.
-ENCL