Milan Rathnayake (born 1 August 1996, known as Milan Priyanath) is a Sri Lankan cricketer.[1][2] He made his List A debut for Tincomalee District in the 2016–17 Districts One Day Tournament on 19 March 2017.[3] He made his Twenty20 debut for Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club in the 2017–18 SLC Twenty20 Tournament on 24 February 2018.[4] Milan made his international career debut in August 2024.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rathnayake Mudiyanselage Milan Priyanath Rathnayake |
| Born | 1 August 1996 Kurunegala, Sri Lanka |
| Nickname | Milan |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Batting | Left-handed |
| Bowling | Right-arm fast-medium |
| Role | Bowling All-rounder |
| International information | |
| National side | |
| Only Test (cap 166) | 21 August 2024 v England |
| Domestic team information | |
| Years | Team |
| 2016–2019 | Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club |
| 2020–present | Moors Sports Club |
Source: Cricinfo, 24 February 2023 | |
International career
editIn February 2023, Rathnayake was selected for Sri Lanka's Test squad for their series against New Zealand.[5] In April 2023, he was again named in Test squad for the series against Ireland.[6][7]
In August 2024, he was named in Sri Lanka's Test squad for their test tour to play three match test series against England.[8][9] He made his test debut on 21 August 2024 against England at Old Trafford and walked out to bat at number nine position for Sri Lanka on his debut and he came out to bat at a crucial time when Sri Lanka were under all sorts of trouble at 113 for the loss of 7 wickets.[10][11] On the first day of the test match on his debut, he scored a half-century and was dismissed after scoring a valiant 72 after facing 135 deliveries, as he engaged in a lower order resistance and fightback, batting way down the order to rescue Sri Lanka from a precarious position to a somewhat respectable competitive total of 236 runs on the board in the first innings.[12][13] He also eventually ended up as the second best batter for Sri Lanka besides the skipper Dhananjaya de Silva during Sri Lanka's first innings scorecard of 236 and he also broke India's Balwinder Sandhu's test record for the best individual test batting performance by a number nine batsman on test debut in an innings.[14][15][16]
References
edit- ^ "Milan Rathnayake". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- ^ "Milan's 6-fer wrecks Navy; 18-year-old Daniel tops the runs chart". The Papare. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "Districts One Day Tournament, Eastern Group, Districts One Day Tournament at Colombo (Burgher), Mar 19 2017". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "Group B, SLC Twenty-20 Tournament at Panagoda, Feb 24 2018". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ "Sri Lanka select uncapped Madushka, Rathnayake for Test tour of New Zealand in March". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Wicketkeeper returns after six-year hiatus as Sri Lanka name squad for Ireland Test". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
- ^ "Sri Lanka drop Dickwella, recall Embuldeniya for Ireland Tests". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- ^ "Who Is Milan Rathnayake - The Sri Lanka Fast-Bowler Set To Make His Test Debut Against England?". Wisden. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "ENG vs SL: Who is Milan Rathnayake? - Cricket | Daily Mirror". Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ Martin, Ali (21 August 2024). "Rathnayake helps Sri Lanka recover from horror start against England". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "ENG vs SL Cricket Scorecard, 1st Test at Manchester, August 21 - 25, 2024". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Milan Rathnayake shines on debut to drag Sri Lanka to 236". Cricbuzz. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ Clementine, Rex (21 August 2024). "Dream debut for Milan Ratnayake". ThePapare. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ icc (22 August 2024). "Sri Lanka debutant creates history with stunning Manchester knock". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Sri Lankan pacer Milan Rathnayake registers the highest score by a men's Test debutant at number 9". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Milan Rathnayake shatters Indian cricketer's 41-year-old record in Tests". Hiru News. Retrieved 22 August 2024.