Former SL cricketer turns bus driver in Melbourne to run his family

Tuesday, 2 March 2021 02:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Suraj Randiv

cricfit.com: Former Sri Lanka cricketer Suraj Randiv, who was a part of Sri Lanka’s 2011 World Cup squad and played against India in the final, has turned into a bus driver in Melbourne – Australia to earn his living.

Along with Randiv, another SL cricketer Chinthaka Jayasinghe, alongside one from Zimbabwe Waddington Mwayenga has taken up this profession to sustain themselves.

Randiv, who mostly remained in the shadow of legendary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, represented Sri Lanka in 12 Test matches, scalping 43 wickets at an economy of 3.07 along with scoring 147 runs at an average of 9.2. As far as the limited-overs formats are concerned, Randiv featured in 31 One-day Internationals and 7 T20 Internationals, picking 36 and 7 wickets respectively at an economy of 5.06 and 6.61. The off-spinner was one of the crucial stakeholders of the side with a habit of picking up wickets and scoring useful runs in the lower-order. Randiv was also electrifying on the field and took some stunning catches. He has also represented Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The three cricketers currently play for local cricket clubs, but had to choose a different career-path too to earn their bread and survive in Australia. Transdev is a company that employs 1200 drivers from diverse professions and the three cricketers are hoping that public transports can get their respective cricket teams in the near future.

Moreover, Randiv plays at the district level in Australia. He also represents Dandenong Cricket Club, which is affiliated with Victoria Premier Cricket, and takes part in Cricket Australia State Competitions. Recently, he was seen at the Australian Cricket Team’s net during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He was called by the management in order to prepare against Ravichandran Ashwin ahead of the fourth Test.