Hettiarachchi Gamage Jeevantha Mahesh Kulatunga (born 2 November 1973), or Jeevantha Kulatunga is a former

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 ...

n T20I

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. An aggressive right-handed middle order batsman, Kulatunga has been

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Colts Cricket Club since 2003–2004, though he failed to make an impact in international level. He is a past student of Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala. He is also a member of 2007

Hong Kong Cricket Sixes The Hong Kong Cricket Sixes is a Six-a-side international cricket tournament held at the Kowloon Cricket Club comprising between eight and twelve teams. Organised by Cricket Hong Kong, it is sanctioned by the International Cricket Council. The ...

winning Sri Lanka team.

Domestic career

Born in Kurunegala, Kulatunga was 17 when he made his first class debut in 1990, playing for Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club. In 2001 he was selected to represent the Sri Lanka Board President's XI in a game against England at Matara, scoring a half century. He has also played for Sri Lanka A, in games against Pakistan A and India. He has been a prolific scorer in domestic cricket and in May steered his club

Wayamba North Western Province ( si, වයඹ පළාත ''Wayamba Paḷāta'', ta, வட மேல் மாகாணம் ''Vada Mael Mākāṇam'') is a province of Sri Lanka. The province consists of the districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam. It ...

to a 31-run victory in the inaugural Inter-Provincial Twenty20 final against Ruhuna, earning an opportunity to make his international debut. He has also played for Barisal Blazers in Bangladesh's NCL T20 Bangladesh.

International career

In October 2008, Kulatunga was selected in the

side for an

International Twenty20 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 ...

tournament in Toronto. He made his debut on 20 October against

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, scoring eight runs and taking a catch in a five-wicket victory, also playing against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Fixing allegations

Jeevantha Kulatunga was suspected by

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

along with

Dilhara Lokuhettige Loku Hettige Danushka Dilhara (born 3 July 1980), known as Dilhara Lokuhettige, is a Sri Lankan former cricketer, who played limited over cricket. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. Lokuhittege had captained Colombo ...

for being involved in a match fixing in a fake T20 series in the United Arab Emirates. However, in a latest release on 28 May 2018, Jeevantha Kulatunga has declined the allegations made by Al Jazeera, stating that this is a planned action against him in order to damage his reputation. The Al Jazeera's Investigation Unit also revealed that former Pakistani cricketer Hasan Raza, Jeevantha Kulatunga and

were preparing to make money by organising and arranging a fake tournament in the UAE solely to make huge collection of money to fix matches in the future.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulatunga, Jeevantha 1973 births Living people Sri Lankan cricketers Sri Lanka Twenty20 International cricketers Colts Cricket Club cricketers Wayamba cricketers Basnahira cricketers Uva cricketers North Central Province cricketers Kandurata Warriors cricketers Sri Lanka Cricket Combined XI cricketers Alumni of Maliyadeva College Cricketers at the 2010 Asian Games Sportspeople from Kurunegala Sri Lankan cricket coaches Barisal Division cricketers Asian Games competitors for Sri Lanka