Sri Lanka’s mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya, who rose to fame with his magical spell of six for 54 against India, has credited Mahela Jayawardene for all his success.
Meanwhile, Danajaya made his debut way back in 2012 under the captaincy of Jayawardene in the T-20 World Cup.
However, it is after six years that he has got the opportunity to showcase his talent on the world stage. As a result of his spell that made Indian batsmen dance on his tunes, Mumbai Indians roped him for Rs 50 lakh.
Jayawardene is more than a mentor
It is quite understandable that Mumbai roped the mystery spinner on the advice of their head coach. The Sri Lankan legend has played a huge role in the youngster’s career.
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Dananjaya also played under his captaincy in the Wayamba United in the Sri Lanka Premier League.
The off-spinner possesses a lot of variations in his armoury and can fox the batsmen with his great control. He can bowl leg-spin, googly, doosra and the off-spin.
However, it was his quality and control over each variation that struck Mahela and Trevor Bayliss. Bayliss was the coach at Wayamba United when the mystery spinner got into the squad.
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Lauded by Trevor Bayliss
“What’s been really good to see is his temperament, for a guy who hasn’t played at this level before. The control with which he bowls his various deliveries is impressive, but he’s also shown a lot of poise at the big moments, and a tendency to ignore what’s going on around him and do what he does,” Bayliss said to ESPNCricinfo.
However, many challenges lie ahead of the young spinner, as the batsmen will eventually figure out the mystery.
Akila has represented Sri Lanka in his 19 ODIs and 15 T20Is so far. Although he hasn’t done enough justice to his ability, it is too early to write him off.
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