Born on September 16, 1966, Asanka Gurusinha was one of the lesser known names who played a stellar role in helping Sri Lanka clinch the 1996 WC. An accomplished No.3, Gurusinha was the pivot around which the middle order shaped itself.

Gurusinha started his career as a wicket keeper batsman before converting himself into a full fledged one. A gutsy cricketer, Gurusinha received praise for his one man shows in some losing causes like scoring 52 in a team score of 82 against India in Chandigarh, 1990. His career best score was an unbeaten 143 in a losing effort against Australia at the MCG. This was almost half of the entire team's score.

Gurusinha's brightest moment was the WC victory in 1996. He scored 3 fifties which included one in the finals against Australia and ended the tournament with a tally of 307 runs at 51.17. It took Gurusinha 9 years to score his first century in One Day International cricket, but he was always a picture of consistency. Gurusinha's career ended prematurely after he refused to return back home for a training camp after a season of club cricket in Melbourne.

Gurusinha now resides permanently in Melbourne. He has now made his career as group sales manager for Trader Classifieds, a company that publishes magazines and websites around Australia.

By Pradeep Krishnamurthy