Sahan Hewa Thilina Kandambi (born 4 June 1982) 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 str ...

er and a former T20 international captain for Sri Lanka. A specialist middle-order batsman, Kandambi was marked out as a talent early, playing for the Sri Lanka Under 19s from 1998 to 2001. He also played ten first class games for the Sri Lanka A cricket team. In January 2021 he was appointed as the head coach of T10 team Bangla Tigers.

International career

Kandambi made his One Day International debut batting at six 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 ...

in 2004, but lasted four balls before he was caught behind off

Mluleki Nkala Mluleki Luke Nkala (born 1 April 1981) is a Zimbabwean international cricketer. He took the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar with his second ball in senior international cricket in 1999. He also took five wickets against England in a test match in Nott ...

for a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

. His next three performances brought him a total of 23 runs, and although he was on the team that won the

2004 Asia Cup The eighth edition of cricket's Asia Cup (also called Indian Oil Asia Cup) was held in Sri Lanka after a gap of 4 years. Sri Lanka beat India in the final to win the cup. The 4 test playing Asian nations participated in the tournament along wit ...

, his performances was not enough for him to be selected to the 2004 Champions Trophy immediately following the Asia Cup, as he was replaced by

Dilhara Fernando Congenige Randhi Dilhara Fernando ( si, දිල්හාර ප්‍රනාන්දු; born 19 July 1979) is a former professional Sri Lankan international cricketer. He played as a right-handed pace bowler and was a key member of the S ...

. In 2008 he returned to Zimbabwe tour and scored a crucial 40 in a low-scoring game to set up the victory. After that series he joined the Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka and scored 59 runs against Pakistan in the 2nd ODI match which resulted in a win for Sri Lanka in that series.

Captaincy

Kandambi was named as stand-in captain for one-off Twenty20 International against England in 2011 in which Sri Lanka won the match comfortably.

Domestic career

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 inn ...

debut on 17 August 2004, for Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club in the

2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament The 2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament is the 1st season of the official Twenty20 domestic cricket competition in Sri Lanka. 15 teams in total, five representing four provinces of Sri Lanka and a Sri Lanka Schools XI team participating in the compet ...

. Kandambi then plied his trade for Central Province and Bloomfield in the Sri Lankan domestic leagues, in addition to playing for Sri Lanka A against touring sides. He played two first class games against New Zealand A in 2005–06, scoring 103 runs in four innings, while as of 1 February 2006 he had not made a half-century in the Premier Championship. In 2004, Kandambi scored 52 for the Sri Lankans against Zimbabwe A. His score was made up of 10 fours and two sixes; this was the first time in first-class cricket that a completed innings of 50 or more had consisted entirely of boundaries. In 2008–09 against South Africa A side both Kandamby and

Rangana Herath Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath ( si, රංගන හේරත්; ta, ரங்கன ஹெரத்; born 19 March 1978), known as Rangana Herath, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of the game and a f ...

, who were playing for Sri Lanka A side, put on an unbeaten 203 for the 7th wicket, which is also the highest for the 7th wicket for any pair in List A cricket history.

Coaching

Kandambi is currently the Head Coach of Sinhalese Sports Club. Kandambi appointed as coach of Jaffna franchise for 2020 edition of Lanka Premier League and ended as a champion of the event. He will continue to coach Jaffna Kings despite change in management of the Jaffna team. In March 2022 he been selected as the assistant coach for the Sri Lanka List A team.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kandamby, Thilina Alumni of Ananda College Sri Lankan cricketers 1982 births Living people Sri Lankan cricket captains Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers Sri Lanka Twenty20 International cricketers Basnahira North cricketers Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club cricketers Wayamba cricketers Uva cricketers Kandurata cricketers Sinhalese Sports Club cricketers Dhaka Division cricketers Uva Next cricketers Abahani Limited cricketers Prime Bank Cricket Club cricketers