Ravindra Pushpakumara came into reckoning at a very young age when he stood out with his pace. In 1994/95 when he made his Test debut against Pakistan, he was said to be the fastest bowler in Sri Lanka. He was considered to be an ideal foil for Chaminda Vaas but he did not really hold onto his place. He was strongly built and used his muscular action to generate appreciable pace but lacked variety. In 1997 he showed his potential by ripping through the West Indies batting at Kingstown to skittle them out for just 141.He was also a part of the team that won the World Cup in 1996.

However, he never really lived up to the promise he showed in the early stages of his career. He gained 58 Test wickets at a rather pricey average of 39 before being discarded from the setup.

By Ganesh Chandrasekaran and Deivarayan Muthu