Asanka Gurusinha

Deshabandu Asanka Pradeep Gurusinha (born 16 September 1966) is a Sri Lankan Australian sales manager and former cricketer[1] who had an 11-year international career, playing 41 Tests and 147 One Day Internationals for Sri Lanka. He was a key member for 1996 Cricket World Cup winning team for Sri Lanka, who is a specialist batsman helped to win the 1996 World Cup final with 65 in a partnership of 125 with the final's Man of the Match, Aravinda de Silva. He was educated at Nalanda College Colombo and had been residing in Melbourne, Australia.[2][3] He was formerly the manager of the Sri Lanka national cricket team and a member of the selection committee.[4][5] In December 2020, he was appointed as head coach of Nigeria national cricket team.[6]

Asanka Gurusinha
අසංක ගුරුසිංහ
Personal information
Full nameAsanka Pradeep Gurusinha
Born (1966-09-16) 16 September 1966
Colombo, Sri Lanka
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight-arm medium
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 32)7 November 1985 v Pakistan
Last Test18 September 1996 v Zimbabwe
ODI debut (cap 42)3 November 1985 v Pakistan
Last ODI8 November 1996 v Pakistan
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
Nondescripts Cricket Club
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 41 147 124 173
Runs scored 2,452 3,902 7,169 4,365
Batting average 38.92 28.27 43.71 26.77
100s/50s 7/8 2/22 20/32 2/23
Top score 143 117* 162 117*
Balls bowled 234 264 5,142 2,035
Wickets 20 26 107 39
Bowling average 34.04 52.07 21.47 42.97
5 wickets in innings 0 0 1 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0
Best bowling 4/68 2/25 5/54 3/36
Catches/stumpings 33/– 49/– 89/– 56/–
Source: Cricinfo, 25 February 2015

International career

Early career

Gurusinha was called up at 19 as a wicket-keeper, a role he took in a further two ODIs and one Test. He gradually established himself as a No. 3 batsman, playing 33 Tests and 109 ODIs in that position, and was described by Simon Wilde of Cricinfo as "the rock on which Sri Lankan batting was founded". He was also known for his big stature and wide stance when batting. When he retired in 1996, only Sri Lanka's captain Aravinda de Silva had made more Test hundreds, with eight compared to Gurusinha's seven.

Late career

Gurusinha was one of the main pillars of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup winning Batting line up. His application at the crisis situations to drag the team scorecard was a major highlight for those who watched the World Series tournament back in 1996.

Asanka is the 32nd Sri Lanka Test Cap, making his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in 1985/86.[7] He was also a useful part-time bowler, with Michael Atherton, Sunil Gavaskar, Dean Jones, Steve Waugh and Inzamam-ul-Haq among his 20 Test wickets.[8]

He was the first Sri Lankan to score a test century at Seddon Park.

Cricket administration

He is a Level 3 certified Cricket Coach, and was also the Consultant Regional Cricket Coach for Cricket Australia.[9] Gurusinha was appointed as the Manager Cricket for the National Team of Sri Lanka in 2017. [10] However with consecutive defeats to India in all formats, Gurusinha along with the selection committee resigned from their positions on 29 August 2017.[11] The resignation did not last for a week, where on 19 September 2017, Gurusinha was re-appointed as the selector, along with three new selectors - Graeme Labrooy, Jeryl Woutersz, Gamini Wickremasinghe, and Sajith Fernando.[12]

In December 2020, he was appointed as head coach of Nigeria national cricket team.[6]

References
  1. http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/598345.html
  2. Sri Lanka Cricket on right direction under Sumathipala: Schoolboy Cricketer title made me believe in myself - Gurusinha
  3. 'Gura’ Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of 1985 starred in Lanka’s World Cup triumph in 1996
  4. "Asanka Gurusinha appointed Manager of national cricket team". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  5. "Asanka Gurusinha appointed SL manager". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  6. "Asanka Gurusinha appointed head coach of Nigeria". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  7. Cricinfo - Career averages - 2nd Test: Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe at Colombo (SSC), Sep 18-21, 1996, from Cricinfo, retrieved 26 August 2006
  8. Cricinfo - Statsguru - AP Gurusinha - Test Bowling, from Cricinfo, retrieved 26 August 2006
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2017-06-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. http://www.frontpage.lk/page/Asanka-Gurusinha-appointed-as-Cricket-Manager/19121
  11. "Sri Lanka selectors resign after defeats to India". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  12. "Gurusinha reappointed selector after resigning". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 September 2017.


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