Mahela Jayawardene is one of those legendary greats of Sri Lankan cricket, who was successful in all three formats of the game. The right-hander represented his country in more than 600 matches, in which he scored over 25,000 runs including 54 centuries and 136 half-centuries. He last played for the island nation in the 2015 World Cup.
Jayawardene had notched up a fine century in the 2011 World Cup final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, but it went in vain. Gautam Gambhir(97) and MS Dhoni (91*) played beautifully and took their team home after beating Sri Lanka by six wickets. India lifted the World Cup after 28 long years, thus becoming the first country to win the tournament on home soil.
In a recent chat with ESPNcricinfo, he went on to reveal something interesting. When asked about a current generation bowler who he felt could’ve troubled him, he named Jasprit Bumrah. Jayawardene is aware of the young bowler’s skills as he is the coach of Mumbai Indians, the IPL franchise for which Bumrah plays.
The in-form pacer was one of India’s go-to players in the World Cup, and was later rested for the T20I and ODI series against West Indies. He is currently the No. 1 bowler in the ICC ODI rankings, and has done immensely well for both his country and IPL team so far. The youngster’s bowling variations and consistent performances have given him sure shot success in a short span of time.
Jayawardene was also asked about a current batsman, he could identify with, as a cricketer. The veteran named the calm and composed New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who is currently the No. 2 batsman in the ICC Test rankings.
Williamson was in red-hot form during the 2019 World Cup, and won the Player of the Tournament Award. He notched up a couple of hundreds in the showpiece event, and also emerged as the leading run-scorer for the Black Caps. However, sadly, his team ended up on the losing side against England in the final due to a much-talked-about ‘boundary count’ rule.
And lastly, Mahela is also very active on social media. On being asked to choose between Twitter and Instagram, he chose the latter. He said the crazy pictures people posted on Instagram, piqued his interest.
