A star in the making, spotted at AIA Premier T20

Dasun bowling

A Sri Lankan record was broken at the AIA Premier T20 this year, by a star in the making, Dasun Shanaka. He broke the record for the most number of sixes in a T20 innings, while captaining for SSC in a match against the Saracens Sports Club. 

Having performed outstandingly at the AIA Premier T20, Dasun has a host of cricketing feats under his belt. So it’s only natural that as the sponsor of the tournament where this national record was broken, AIA Insurance, tracked down this star in the making, for a quick chat. 

Dasun attributes his skill to his childhood where he and his best friend would play cricket every evening: “Sukitha and I would play after school and this really helped us develop our play. Sukitha’s father used to personally take us for our matches and watch the games so he can give us feedback on how to better our strokes. I really appreciated his guidance and will always remember him with love.”

Now 24 years old and having played some serious cricket, Dasun still holds dear fond memories from his school days. “My most memorable achievements from school was when I scored over a 1000 runs in the 2010/11 season at Maristella… it was a great achievement and I was very happy.” Notably, Dasun has some pretty remarkable runs on his record, including 241 against Kingswood, 121 against Trinity, 111 against St. Peter’s and 156 against Holy Cross. 

His best cricketing experience so far is receiving his T20 international cap in front of his home town crowd (which he got in August 2015). Indeed, this is quite an honour but we reckon he has even bigger things to look forward to, considering his track record!

When asked what his top five pastimes are (in addition to cricket of course) he listed out badminton, soft ball, travelling, exploring nature and hanging out with his brothers. His main focus is to make sure his parents and two brothers are well looked after, while balancing his career at a bank and enhancing his cricketing skills so as to benefit Sri Lankan cricket: “I want to be an asset to my country and make sure we win, wherever we play!” 

Indeed he proved his all-round value by picking up three wickets to help Sri Lanka’s victory in the first T20 International against India.

AIA’s sponsorship of the AIA Premier T20 was with the hope of nurturing national talent, so it came as super news that a Sri Lankan record was broken at the tournament.