IPL 2018 | Akila Dananjaya regards MI coach Mahela Jayawardene more than just Mentor
Akila Dananjaya holds Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene in high regards as the former Sri Lanka skipper was one of the major reasons for his claim to fame. Impressed by Dananjaya’s magical spell of 6/54 against India in Pallekele, he was bought by the Mumbai-based franchise for 50 lakhs.
Akila Dananjaya has been one of the only few glimmers of hope in the constant decline of the Sri Lankan cricket. Hailing from a humble background, life has never been easy for the 24-year-old, who is holding the latest mantle of Sri Lanka’s lot of mystery spinners over the years. Dananjaya got into the spotlight after he single-handedly destroyed the formidable Indian batting line-up last year. With all failing to decode his mystery, Dananjaya made a mockery of the Indian stalwarts, taking 6 wickets for 54 runs. However, Dhoni and Bhuvneswar made sure that India ended up on the winning end.
On the back of this performance, he made his entrance into the Indian cash-rich league as he was picked up by Mumbai Indians for Rs 50 lakhs. In Mumbai Indians, he reunited with his mentor Mahela Jayawardene, who has a major role to play in his prominence to the international circuit. At the age of 18, he made his debut in the 2012 T20 World Cup, under Jayawardene. His debut was highly controversial as he hadn’t played much first-class cricket, but he gave a fitting reply to all his critics, by performing well in the tournament.
Jayawardene and coach Graham Ford liked what they saw in the youngster and picked him for the team. He had seven variations and could bowl the leg-spinner, googly, doosra and the off-spinner. His first professional match was again under Jayawardene’s captaincy for Wayamba United in the Sri Lanka Premier League. Franchise coach Trevor Bayliss was highly impressed what he saw in him.
"What's been really good to see is his temperament, for a guy who hasn't played at this level before. The control with which he bowls his various deliveries is impressive, but he's also shown a lot of poise at the big moments, and a tendency to ignore what's going on around him and do what he does," he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"The challenge for him will come when batsmen get a better look at him and begin to work him out. But he has the basics there to make him a good bowler regardless, and maybe in future, his focus might be on the more orthodox aspects of spin bowling," Bayliss had added.
In the 19 ODIs so far for Sri Lanka, he has grabbed 21 wickets at an impressive economy of 5. However, his numbers in the T20Is don’t really reflect how good a bowler he is. He has taken just 12 wickets in 15 matches at an economy just around 8. Dananjaya didn’t quite have the IPL debut he would have dreamt of, as he ended with figures of 0/47 in 4 overs. He would surely be itching to prove his metal in IPL.
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