Dulip Liyanage

Although not express quick, Dulip Liyanage had the brain to be a successful fast bowler and was meticulous in his preparation. However, his brief international career was underwhelming, both in Tests and ODIs. Dulip’s biggest claim to fame isn’t a performance but rather the fact that he made his debut in the same game as the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan. There was a lot of promise in Dulip’s initial games as he troubled batsmen with his nagging lengths and a hint of movement. However, on placid surfaces that didn’t offer much to the pacers, his lack of pace backfired and rendered him inefficient. Injuries then compounded the misery on him and though he made a comeback later on, Dulip wasn’t the same force that he was earlier on. Injuries intervened again and that was the final nail to his ambitions. In domestic cricket, he was a star performer as a genuine bowling all-rounder who loved the longer format the most.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan