Kande Arachchige Isuru Udana Tillakaratna ( si, ඉසුරු උදාන; born 17 February 1988) is a former Sri Lankan
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
er who represented Sri Lanka internationally in limited over formats. He currently plays domestic cricket for
Tamil Union and
Wayamba. Primarily a left arm fast bowler, Udana evolved as an all-rounder in late 2018. On 31 July 2021, Udana announced his retirement from international cricket.
Domestic and franchise career
Udana made his
first-class and
List A cricket
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
debuts whilst playing for the
Sri Lanka A team during their tour to South Africa in August and September 2008. He subsequently went on to play for Tamil Union in both forms during the 2008–09 season. He was then selected by Wayamba to play in both the first-class and
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...
portions of the
Sri Lankan Inter-Provincial Cricket Tournament
Inter-Provincial Cricket was a cricket tournament that included the three domestic cricket competitions in Sri Lanka. It started with the Inter-Provincial First Class Tournament in 1990 because of the general idea that club cricket alone would ...
. In the Twenty20 final against
Basnahira South he was named Man of the Match after taking 4–31, including 4 of the top 5 batsman. He was also named player of the tournament.
In the
Sri Lanka Premier League
The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) was a Twenty20 cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was intended to be the premier Twenty20 league in the country, held by Sri Lanka Cricket, when it replaced the Inter-Provincial Twenty20 competition.
Afte ...
which was held in August 2012, he managed to showcase his all-round talent by taking regular wickets for his team
Wayamba United
Wayamba United was a franchise cricket team that took part in Sri Lanka Premier League, representing North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province. Wadhawan Holdings Private Limited purchased the team for $5.02 million in 2012 fo ...
, and chipping in with the bat at times. His key performance came against
Uva Next
The Uva Next was a franchise cricket team that took part in Sri Lanka Premier League, representing Uva (Sri Lanka), Uva. Success Sports Private Limited purchased the team for $4.6 million in 2012. They was owned for seven years, after which a new a ...
in the tournament semi final when he scored 42 which almost helped Wayamba to pull off an impossible chase from 27/7 to 151–8. In that same semi final clash he along with
Azhar Mahmood
Azhar Mahmood ( pnb, اظہر محمود ساگر; born 28 February 1975) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. He was the bowling coach of the Pakistani national cricket team until 2019.
Previously, he played Tests and ODIs for Pa ...
set the highest ever 8th wicket partnership in any forms of T20s. (120)
On 22 September 2010, while playing for Wayamba in the
2010 Champions League T20, Udana completed a rare feat by taking a hat-trick of two (legal) deliveries.
Mathew Sinclair
Mathew Stuart Sinclair (born 9 November 1975) is an Australian-born New Zealand cricketer. He is a right-handed middle order batsman who has also opened the innings. He holds the equal world record for the highest Test score (214) by a number t ...
, the second wicket of the hat-trick was out stumped off a wide-ball. Isuru Udana also became the first bowler to take a
hattrick
A hat-trick (commonly known as a hat trick), in various sports, means achieving three goals, three wickets in three deliveries, etc. in a single match.
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:
* "Hat Trick" (''Once Upon a Time''), an episod ...
in
Champions League T20
The Champions League Twenty20, also referred to as the CLT20, was an annual international Twenty20 Cricket competition played between qualifying domestic teams from some major cricketing nations. The competition was launched in 2008 with the fi ...
history.
In April 2018, he was named in Kandy's squad for the
2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament.
He was the leading wicket-taker for Kandy in the tournament, with ten dismissals in six matches.
On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Montreal Tigers in the players' draft for the
inaugural edition of the
Global T20 Canada
The Global T20 Canada is a 20-over cricket tournament played in Canada. The first edition of the tournament took place during June and July 2018 with six teams competing. Each team featured four local Canadian cricketers in each squad, along wi ...
tournament.
In August 2018, he was named in Dambulla's squad the
2018 SLC T20 League
The 2018 SLC T20 League was a domestic Twenty20 cricket tournament that was held in Sri Lanka, between 21 August and 2 September 2018. Four teams took part in the tournament: Colombo, Dambulla, Galle and Kandy. The Rangiri Dambulla International ...
.
In October 2018, he was the leading wicket-taker in the
2018–19 Afghanistan Premier League
The 2018–19 Afghanistan Premier League (also known as Gulbahar Afghanistan Premier League T20 2018) was the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket tournament, held in the United Arab Emirates. It took ...
, with seventeen dismissals in eight matches. The following month, he was named in the squad for the
Rajshahi Kings
Rajshahi Royals ( Varendri/ bn, রাজশাহী রয়্যালস) were a Bangladeshi franchise Twenty20 cricket team. The team was based in Rajshahi in Bangladesh and competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), a Twenty20 fr ...
team, following the draft for the
2018–19 Bangladesh Premier League
The 2018–19 BPL season, also known as BPL 6 or UCB BPL 2019 Powered by TVS (for sponsorship reasons), was the sixth season of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the top level professional Twenty20 cricket franchise league in Bangladesh. T ...
.
In March 2019, he was named in Dambulla's squad for the
2019 Super Provincial One Day Tournament. In June 2019, he was selected to play for the Montreal Tigers franchise team in the
2019 Global T20 Canada tournament. In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the
Paarl Rocks
Paarl (; Afrikaans: ; derived from ''Parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a town with 112,045 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the third-oldest city and European settlement in the Republic of South Africa (after ...
team for the
2019 Mzansi Super League
The 2019 Mzansi Super League, also known as the MSL 2.0, was the second edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL) Twenty20 (T20) franchise cricket tournament in South Africa. It started on 8 November and ended on 16 December 2019. Jozi Stars wer ...
tournament.
In the
2020 IPL auction, he was bought by the
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (often abbreviated as RCB) are a franchise cricket team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was founded in 2008 by United Spirits and named after the company's liquor b ...
for ahead of the
2020 Indian Premier League
The 2020 Indian Premier League, also known as IPL 13 and branded as Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020, was the thirteenth season of the IPL, a professional Twenty20 cricket (T20) league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (B ...
. In October 2020, he was drafted by the Colombo Kings for the
inaugural edition of the
Lanka Premier League
The Lanka Premier League (abbreviated as LPL; , ) is a professional cricket league in Sri Lanka in Twenty20 format contested every year by teams representing Sri Lankan cities from 2020. The league was founded by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in 201 ...
.
Ahead of the
2021 Indian Premier League, he was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was picked by
Trinbago Knight Riders
The Trinbago Knight Riders (formerly the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel) are a franchise cricket team of the Caribbean Premier League based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The Red Steel was one of the original six teams created for the t ...
ahead of the
2021 Caribbean Premier League. He took his first wicket haul in T20 cricket during a league match against Barbados Royals in 2021 CPL season and also registered his career best T20 bowling figures of 5/21.
In November 2021, he was selected to play for the
Galle Gladiators
Galle Gladiators are a Sri Lankan franchise professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Lanka Premier League, Sri Lanka and representing the city of Galle, Southern Province. Nadeem Omar, who owns the Quetta Gladiators in Paki ...
following the players' draft for the
2021 Lanka Premier League. In July 2022, he was signed by the
Kandy Falcons
Kandy Falcons, formerly known as Kandy Tuskers and Kandy Warriors, are a Sri Lankan franchise professional Twenty20 cricket team that competes in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), representing the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka which was founded in 2020 ...
for the
third edition of the
Lanka Premier League
The Lanka Premier League (abbreviated as LPL; , ) is a professional cricket league in Sri Lanka in Twenty20 format contested every year by teams representing Sri Lankan cities from 2020. The league was founded by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in 201 ...
.
International career
Udana was selected in the
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
squad for the
2009 ICC World Twenty20
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was an international Twenty20 cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that took place in England in June 2009. It was the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural ...
. He made his
Twenty20
Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...
international debut on 8 June 2009 against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
during the T20 World Cup tournament. He played in 5 of Sri Lanka's 7 games in the tournament, including their loss in the final to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Udana failed to continue his domestic success at the international level, and subsequently was dropped from the side after the home series against Pakistan in 2009. He made a comeback into the Sri Lankan squad in 2012 when the selection panel headed by
Ashantha de Mel
Ashantha Lakdasa Francis de Mel (born 9 May 1959) is a former Sri Lankan Test and ODI cricketer and selector for the national team. He bowled Sri Lanka's first ball in a Test match. He was one of few Sri Lanka bowlers in the 1980s above mediu ...
named him for the T20s against Pakistan at home. He was then selected for the ODIs against India which followed the Pakistan series and made his ODI debut on 24 July 2012 against India. However, he again failed to deliver in a bilateral series. His only significant contribution in that series was a direct hit to run out
Gautam Gambhir
Gautam Gambhir (; born 14 October 1981) is an Indian politician and former cricketer, who has played all formats of the game. He is a current member of the Lok Sabha since 2019. He received the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 2019, t ...
at a key moment in one of the games.
After a long scarce in international arena, Udana got a chance to play in Twenty20 International
series against New Zealand in 2016. The comeback was very good at first few balls in the second T20I, where easy catch of
Martin Guptill
Martin James Guptill (born 30 September 1986) is a New Zealand international cricketer who plays as an opening batsman in limited overs formats of the game. Guptill is the first cricketer from New Zealand and the fifth overall to have scored a d ...
was dropped by
Thisara Perera
Narangoda Liyanaarachchige Thisara Chirantha Perera ( si, තිසර පෙරේරා; born 3 April 1989), popularly as Thisara Perera, is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer who played all formats for the national team. He also cap ...
on Udana's bowling. Since then, Udana was brutally hit by New Zealanders and Udana gave 34 runs in his 3 overs, where New Zealand won the match by 9 wickets only in the 10th over.
In May 2018, he was one of 33 cricketers to be awarded a national contract by
Sri Lanka Cricket
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Cricket for Sri Lanka (BCCSL) on 30 June 1975 as a national spo ...
ahead of the 2018–19 season.
In March 2019, during the fourth ODI
against South Africa, Udana and
Kasun Rajitha
Chandrasekara Arachchilage Kasun Rajitha (born 1 June 1993) is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer, who plays all formats of the game in international level for Sri Lanka. He is an old boy of St. Servatius' College, Matara.
Early and domestic ...
made the
highest partnership for the tenth wicket for Sri Lanka in an ODI match, with 58 runs.
On 22 March, during a
T20I
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
match against
South Africa national cricket team
The South Africa national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa (CSA). South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council (I ...
, he broke the world record for highest individual score (84) batting at number eight in a
T20I
A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...
match.
In April 2019, he was named in
Sri Lanka's squad for the
2019 Cricket World Cup
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...
. During the second T20I against India on 7 January 2020, Udana injured with a back injury attempting to stop the ball at short third man. He was immediately taken off the field and did not return to bowl. He was ruled out from the series after the injury.
On 31 July 2021, Udana announced retirement from International cricket.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Udana, Isuru
1988 births
Living people
Sri Lankan cricketers
Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers
Sri Lanka Twenty20 International cricketers
Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club cricketers
Wayamba cricketers
Ruhuna cricketers
Wayamba United cricketers
Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI cricketers
Asian Games medalists in cricket
Cricketers at the 2010 Asian Games
Cricketers at the 2014 Asian Games
Galle Guardians cricketers
Asian Games gold medalists for Sri Lanka
Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games
Rangpur Riders cricketers
Paarl Rocks cricketers
Paktia Panthers cricketers
Rajshahi Royals cricketers
Cricketers at the 2019 Cricket World Cup
Royal Challengers Bangalore cricketers
Colombo Stars cricketers
Galle Gladiators cricketers
Trinbago Knight Riders cricketers