Uda Walawwe Mahim Bandaralage Chanaka Asanka Welegedara, better known as Chanaka Welegedara, is probably the owner of the longest name in international cricket. A reasonably tall (6'1) and well-built bustling left-arm seamer, he has molded himself on his role model, Chaminda Vaas. He is known for bowling a tidy line around the off stump and has the ability to bring the ball back into the right-handers, as a result of which a lot of his victims are either lbw or bowled.

A late starter to the sport, he only started playing cricket at 17. Playing for St. Thomas College, he made rapid strides and was soon picked by Daryl Foster for the Sri Lankan pace academy in 2000. In 2002, he was sent to the MRF pace academy in Chennai to develop his skills further.

He made his debut in 2002 for Moors SC, picking up 34 wickets at 24.14 in 2002-03. Impressive performances for the Sri Lanka developmental squad against UAE earned him a place in the Sri Lanka 'A' side. However, he received a huge setback due to an ankle injury. After being operated in Australia, he was out of action for most of 2003 and 2004.

Welegedara toured England with the 'A' team in 2007 and made his international debut against England in December 2007, a game in which he picked up 4 wickets. He was named in Sri Lanka's Test squad for the tour of West Indies in 2008 before being included for the India series in November-December 2009.

He made his ODI debut against India in 2009 at Rajkot. Following Lasith Malinga's retirement in Test cricket, Welegedara was given a decent run but the latter failed to capitalize. Barring the occasional flashes of brilliance Welegedara lacked in consistency as well as variety. Struggling to cement a permanent spot, he has wandered in and out of the team.

by Mayank Wadhi