He bats, he bowls and he tops charts with both. A technically sound batsman who is a welcome throwback to the times when batting was artistic, Dhananjaya de Silva rose up the ranks through age-division cricket. Much like most other talents in Sri Lanka, he started off with a call-up into the national U-19 squad. But the real moment of recognition came in 2015 when he made heads turn around and take notice after a string of strong performances with the bat.

He followed it up with staggering numbers in the Super T20 Provincial Tournament across six innings. He further capped off the season starring in Tamil Union's first First Class title in 55 years amassing 868 runs at 54.20. As if that wasn't enough, he ended up as his side's top wicket-taker as well, bowling his wily off-spin. A national call-up to the Test squad soon followed for Sri Lanka's tour to the UK.

He impressed almost instantly. In his debut series against the mighty Aussies, he ended up as the top scorer. A particular stand out moment was the partnership he forged with Dinesh Chandimal in rescuing his side from dire straits en route his maiden Test ton. In 2017, during the pollution wrecked Delhi Test, he bagged the record of the highest score by a visiting batsman in the fourth innings in India, when he batted out 257 minutes to get to 119 as he helped Sri Lanka save the Test.

It comes as no surprise, given the start he's had to his international career, when he became the joint fastest Sri Lankan to get to 1000 Test runs in merely 23 innings - something which has helped him become the SLC Player of the Year in 2017. All in all, with the Sri Lankan side in a rebuilding phase and most senior heads out, he has the ability to play a crucial all-round and impactful role for Sri Lanka.

By - Vineet Anantharaman