Wikipedia

Shashikala Siriwardene

(Redirected from Shashikala Siriwardana)

Hettimulla Appuhamilage Shashikala Dedunu Siriwardene (born 14 February 1985 in Colombo, Sri Lanka), known as Shashikala Siriwardene, is a Sri Lankan former cricketer who captained the Sri Lankan women's cricket team in WODIs.[1][2][3] She is the only woman cricketer to take 100 wickets in WODIs for Sri Lanka,[4] and the only female Sri Lankan to combine this with 1,000+ runs. She is also the all-time leading wicket taker for Sri Lanka in WT20I with 77 scalps. She played for Sri Lanka internationally in a career spanning 17 years, from 2003 to 2020.[5][6]

Shashikala Siriwardene
Shashikala Siriwardene bowling for Sri Lanka against New Zealand during their 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup match at the WACA Ground in Perth
Personal information
Full name
Hettimulla Appuhamilage Shashikala Dedunu Siriwardene
Born (1985-02-14) 14 February 1985 (age 39)
Colombo, Sri Lanka
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight arm off spin
RoleAll-rounder
International information
National side
ODI debut (cap 27)13 March 2003 v West Indies
Last ODI9 October 2019 v Australia
ODI shirt no.14
T20I debut (cap 17)21 April 2010 v West Indies
Last T20I2 March 2020 v Bangladesh
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
2003–Slimline Sport Club Women
2010–Marians Ladies
2011–Sri Lanka Navy
2020Supernovas
Career statistics
Competition WODI WT20I
Matches 118 81
Runs scored 2029 1097
Batting average 18.44 17.14
100s/50s 0/7 0/1
Top score 68 52
Balls bowled 5449 1653
Wickets 124 77
Bowling average 28.84 20.75
5 wickets in innings 0 –
10 wickets in match 0 n/a
Best bowling 4/11 4/16
Catches/stumpings 41/- 16/-
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 21 June 2021
Medal record
Representing  Sri Lanka
Women's Cricket
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Team

She is also the longest serving member of the Sri Lankan women's cricket team and is also widely regarded as the mother figure of Sri Lankan women's cricket.[7][8] She has captained Sri Lanka in two Women's Cricket World Cup campaigns, in 2009 and in 2013. She is a former student of President's College, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. Injury concerns kept her sidelined from international cricket towards the end of her career. In addition to her cricketing career, she has also worked as a human resource assistant for clothing firm Slimline.[9] She is also attached with Sri Lanka Navy since 2011 and also represents Sri Lanka Navy in domestic circuit.[10]

Early life

edit

She started playing cricket at the age of nine at her residence in Kotikawatta where she was born and her father provided enormous support and guidance to take up the sport to the highest level.[11] It was revealed she took interest in the sport after watching her brother playing street cricket with his friends in the streets.[12] She was introduced to Palink Sports Club by her father's personal friend and played for the club until the age of 12.[13]

She later joined the Slimline Sports Club in 2003.[14] She joined the MAS Holdings in 2006 and served in the mercantile sector for two years. She also regularly featured in MAS Holdings team in annual mercantile cricket tournaments. She was graduated from the President's College, Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte where she also pursued athletics as there was no women's cricket team attached with the educational institute.[12]

Personal life

edit

She married Sri Lankan first-class cricketer Namal Seneviratne in 2013 at the age of 28.[15] Initially both Siriwardane and Seneviratne were regarded as friends as they became good friends when they met for the first time in 2006/07 Mercantile Cricket Tournament when Siriwardane was representing MAS Holdings while Seneviratne was the assistant coach at the Mercantile Cricket Association.[15] She also indicated that she was thoughtful about retiring from international cricket in 2013 after her marriage but her husband convinced her to continue to play for Sri Lanka.[7]

International career

edit

Siriwardene made her ODI debut against West Indies at Kingstown, St. Vincent in March 2003 at the age of 18 after being selected to the national pool in 2002. She took 2–20 and also scored a brisk 29 in that match, which was ultimately won by the Sri Lankans.[16] Her international debut came at a time when women's cricket in Sri Lanka was not under the control of Sri Lanka Cricket Board until 2006.

She was part of the Sri Lankan side which became runners-up to India in the inaugural edition of the Women's Asia Cup in 2004.[17] Her best bowling figures of 4–11 was recorded against Pakistan in the 2005–06 Women's Asia Cup in Karachi. Other notable performances include her 4–34 also against Pakistan in the 2006–07 Women's Asia Cup.

She made her debut World Cup appearance during the 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup.[18] She was first appointed as the captain of the national team in December 2005. She made her captaincy debut at the age of 20 years in a group stage match against Pakistan as part of the 2005–06 Women's Asia Cup at Karachi which Sri Lanka eventually won by 14 runs.[19] At the age of 20 years and 317 days, she became the youngest ever captain of Sri Lanka women's cricket team in WODIs as well as became the third youngest captain in Women's One Day Internationals.[20]

She went onto captain the national team from 2005 to 2009 and then she pursued her second captaincy stint from 2010 to 2014.[21][22] Under her captaincy, Sri Lanka emerged as runners-up in 2005–06 Women's Asia Cup, 2006 Women's Asia Cup, 2008 Women's Asia Cup to India in the finals.[23][24][25]

She captained the side at the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup where Sri Lanka failed to win a single game and was knocked out of the tournament. She was controversially axed from the Sri Lankan side for the 2009 ICC Women's World Twenty20 due to below par performances under her captaincy at the 2009 50 over World Cup.[26] However, she was reinstated as captain of the Sri Lankan side after the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup and led the Sri Lankan side at the home T20 World Cup in 2012.[27] She made her WT20I debut against West Indies in Caribbean on 21 April 2010.[28]

She captained the Sri Lankan side at the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup which was held in India.[29] Under her captaincy, Sri Lanka qualified to Super Sixes stage for the first time ever in a Women's World Cup tournament whereas Sri Lanka sprung surprises with shocking upset victories over much fancied England and India sides during the group stage of the 2013 World Cup campaign.[30][31][32] It also turned out to be the most successful Women's Cricket World Cup campaign for Sri Lanka.[33] Her significant leadership was also instrumental in Sri Lanka's progress in women's cricket and was awarded the Women's Cricketer of the Year for 2013 at the annual Sri Lanka Cricket Awards.[34]

She was ranked world's top women all-rounder in WT20Is in 2014. She was also selected to play for first ever Rest of the World XI women's team against the Marylebone Cricket Club women's team in a match which was held at Lord's on 19 May 2014.[7] She was also part of the Sri Lankan team which secured bronze medal at the 2014 Asian Games after defeating China by 4 wickets in the bronze medal match.[35][36] It was also her maiden appearance at an Asian Games event.

Siriwardene has captained Sri Lanka Women in 49 WODI matches with 18 wins, 29 losses and 2 no results, and she is the Sri Lankan women cricketer to have captained internationally for most number of times.[37] Despite her 38.29% winning percentage as captain, she is regarded as the best woman cricketer to play the game for Sri Lanka. Andrew Fidel Fernando who is a Sri Lankan correspondent to ESPNcricinfo website cited Siriwardane as Sri Lanka's first real woman cricketing star.[38]

Shashikala is the second highest WODI run scorer for Sri Lanka with 2029 runs in 118 matches. This includes 7 WODI fifties as well, but she ended her career without a century.[39] She is the highest WODI wicket taker for Sri Lanka as well, with 124 wickets including 6 four-wicket hauls. With this feat, Siriwardene is the first and only Sri Lankan women cricketer to get 100 wickets in WODI history.[40]

In Women T20 Internationals, Siriwardene is second only to former captain Chamari Atapattu in most runs for Sri Lanka women. She has scored 1097 runs in 81 matches with a highest score of unbeaten 52 runs. In the bowling department, there is no one to match her, where she is top-ranked with 77 WT20I wickets with an average of 19.29.[41] Siriwardene has captained T20I side as well with record of 31 matches. Sri Lanka have won 9 of them and lost 20 however with winning percentage of 31.03%.[42]

In 2015, she was reappointed as the skipper of the Sri Lankan team and commenced her third stint as captain who resigned from the position in 2014 citing administration issues and hurdles.[43] In 2015, she underwent rehabilitation for a period of four weeks after sustaining a thumb fracture injury during the third WODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand and was subsequently replaced by her deputy Chamari Atapattu as the temporary captain of Sri Lankan team.[44][45]

On 1 December 2016, she won the Sri Lanka Cricket awards for the Women's ODI all rounder of the Year 2016.[46] She faced major injury scare ahead of the 2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament after sustaining an hamstring injury in a warmup match against India prior to the start of the tournament.[47] However, she was available for team selection and captained the Sri Lankan side at the 2016 Women's T20 World Cup except for the final group stage match against South Africa after recovering from injuries.[44] She was replaced by Chamari Atapattu as the stand-in captain for Sri Lanka in their last group stage match against South Africa which Sri Lanka won by 10 runs.[48]

In August 2016, Siriwardane also met with an accident in Colombo after returning to cricket three and half months following the left hamstring injury which she sustained during the 2016 Women's T20 World Cup. She was diagnosed with bacterial infection after tearing her posterior anterior cruciate ligament.[7] It was reported that she was riding her own bike which collided with a three-wheeler and the bike reportedly fell on her right knee after sliding towards a wall in the street. She underwent surgery in order to reconstruct her ACL and therefore missed out on to play against Australia and New Zealand in home bilateral international series as part of the ICC Women's Championship which began in 2017.[47]

During the 2017 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup she set the milestone for becoming the first woman cricketer to play in 100 WODI matches for Sri Lanka.[49][50] The 2017 World Cup was the fourth and final World Cup appearance for Shashikala.[51]

In October 2018, she was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament in the West Indies.[52] Ahead of the tournament, she was named as one of the players to watch.[53] She was the joint-leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the tournament, with four dismissals in three matches.[54] Following the conclusion of the tournament, she was named as the standout player in the team by the International Cricket Council (ICC).[55] She captained the Sri Lankan team at the 2018 Women's T20 Asia Cup.[56] She was named as best bowler and best allrounder in WT20Is at the 2019 Sri Lanka Cricket Annual Awards.[57] In 2019, Sri Lanka Cricket offered her Group A contract following notable performances at international level.[58]

In January 2020, she was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.[59] On 2 March 2020, she announced that she would be retiring from international cricket following the T20 World Cup.[60][7][61] She was the leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the tournament, with seven dismissals in four matches.[62] During the 2020 T20 World Cup, Indian women's team felicitated Shashikala with a signed jersey after the end of the group stage match between India and Sri Lanka.[63] In the last group stage match against Bangladesh in the tournament she starred with the ball taking 4/16 in a winning cause and also received player of the match award for her performance which was also turned out to be her last international appearance.[64][65] Prior to the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup, she was ranked at 6th position in ICC rankings for allrounders in WT20Is.[66]

Franchise career

edit

In November 2020, she along with Chamari Atapattu played together for Supernovas in the 2020 Women's T20 Challenge which was held in Sharjah.[67][68][69][70]

Coaching career

edit

She became a Level 1 coach with Sri Lanka Cricket after completing the Level 1 coaching program conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket and also had a brief stint of three years coaching cricket techniques to young schools girls at the Devi Balika Vidyalaya in Colombo.[71]

Incidents

edit

In 2008, she along with four other Sri Lankan national women cricketers who were having central contracts with Sri Lanka Cricket claimed to have lost their day jobs at a clothing company called Slimline where all five of them reportedly worked at the same workplace. It was revealed that the company had threatened them to choose between job and cricket career.[72]

In 2011, Shashikala told to BBC that the women cricketers might be recruited by Sri Lankan security forces including herself after Sri Lanka Cricket failed to find and secure sponsors for the women's cricket team.[73][74] She then eventually joined the Sri Lankan Navy in the same year.[75]

In 2018, former Sri Lankan women's cricket team head coach Hemantha Devapriya upon his resignation revealed that the increase in conflicts among senior players like Shashikala and Chamari led to the downfall of women's cricket in Sri Lanka.[76]

In March 2021, she criticised the Sri Lanka cricket selectors for being incompetent about making policies and strategies towards taking women's cricket to next stage and admitted the fact that the selectors are not convinced with her continue to play for Sri Lanka Navy club in women's inter-club limited overs competition.[77]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Match scorecard". CricketArchive. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene Profile - ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene profile and biography, stats, records, averages, photos and videos". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Leading Ladies: First to 100 ODI wickets from each team". Women's CricZone. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Women's T20 World Cup: Harmanpreet Kaur lauds Sri Lanka legend Shashikala Siriwardene". The Statesman. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene: The epitome of SL's women's cricket". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e "A match-winning show and 17 years of memories - Shashikala Siriwardene signs off". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene: A Services Woman Ready for All Challenges". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Five Sri Lanka women players lose their jobs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Shashikala stars in Navy SC's emphatic win". Sunday Observer. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene the queen of Sri Lanka cricket". Daily News. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  12. ^ a b Obeyesekere, Srian. "Shashikala Siriwardene: Sri Lanka's original superstar". Women's CricZone. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Features | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers". archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Retiring Shashikala eyeing memorable World Cup". CeylonToday. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  15. ^ a b "How Shashikala Siriwardene's marriage almost cost and then made her career". CricBuzz. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Full Scorecard of SL Women vs WI Women 1st ODI 2002/03 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  17. ^ "Full Scorecard of IND Women vs SL Women 5th ODI 2004 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Sri Lanka seal final place". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Full Scorecard of SL Women vs PAK Women 1st Match 2005/06 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Youngest captains | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Siriwardene steps down from captaincy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Siriwardene aims for improved Sri Lanka show". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  23. ^ "Sri Lanka determined to learn from mistakes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  24. ^ "Full Scorecard of IND Women vs SL Women Final 2008 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Full Scorecard of SL Women vs IND Women Final 2006/07 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Siriwardene and two others dropped from World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  27. ^ "Siriwardene to lead Sri Lanka in women's World T20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  28. ^ "Full Scorecard of SL Women vs WI Women 1st T20I 2010 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  29. ^ "Women's World Cup tournament guide". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  30. ^ "Siriwardene 'seriously super happy' with progress". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Sri Lanka's unwavering belief pays off". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  32. ^ Richards, Huw (6 February 2013). "Sri Lanka Shakes Up Women's Cricket World Cup". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  33. ^ "ICC Women's World Cup 2013: Batting needs to improve for top four finish, feels Siriwardene". Cricket Country. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Herath, Sangakkara win top honours at SLC awards". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Full Scorecard of China Wmn vs SL Women 3rd Place Play-off 2014/15 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  36. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene poses with Asian Games bronze medal". Island Cricket. 28 September 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  37. ^ "Cricket Records - Sri Lanka Women - / - Records - Women's One-Day Internationals - Most matches as captain - ESPNcricinfo". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  38. ^ Srinivasan, Meera (14 March 2020). "Spinning the ball on the pitch, no matter what". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  39. ^ "Cricket Records | Sri Lanka Women | Records | Women's One-Day Internationals | Most runs | ESPNcricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  40. ^ "Cricket Records - Sri Lanka Women - / - Records - Women's One-Day Internationals - Most wickets - ESPNcricinfo". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  41. ^ "Cricket Records - Sri Lanka Women - / - Records - Women's Twenty20 Internationals - Most wickets - ESPNcricinfo". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  42. ^ "Cricket Records - Sri Lanka Women - / - Records - Women's Twenty20 Internationals - Most matches as captain - ESPNcricinfo". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  43. ^ "Siriwardene reappointed SL Women captain". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  44. ^ a b "Siriwardene returns to lead SL Women in World T20". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  45. ^ Vasudevan, Estelle (9 November 2015). "Shashikala Siriwardene ruled out of New Zealand series". ThePapare.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  46. ^ "Dialog Cricket Awards 2016: List of award winners". Cricket Machan. 1 December 2016.
  47. ^ a b "Siriwardene's stirring tale of blood, sweat and tears". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  48. ^ "Full Scorecard of SL Women vs SA Women 20th Match, Group A 2015/16 - Score Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  49. ^ "28th Match: Pakistan Women v Sri Lanka Women at Leicester, Jul 15, 2017 | Cricket Scorecard | ESPNcricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  50. ^ "Cricket Records | Records | Sri Lanka Women | Women's One-Day Internationals | Most matches | ESPNcricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  51. ^ "With Siriwardene boost, Sri Lanka aims to cause a few shake-ups". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  52. ^ "Squads confirmed for ICC Women's World T20 2018". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  53. ^ "Players to watch in ICC Women's World T20 2018". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  54. ^ "ICC Women's World T20, 2018/19 - Sri Lanka Women: Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  55. ^ "#WT20 report card: Sri Lanka". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  56. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardena to lead Sri Lanka in Women's Asia Cup | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  57. ^ "Honours for Malinga, Athapaththu in 2019 SLC awards". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  58. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket offers contracts to women players". Cricketnmore. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  59. ^ "Sri Lanka squad for ICC Women's T20I World Cup 2020". Sri Lanka Cricket. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  60. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene to retire from International Cricket". The Papare. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  61. ^ "Is the 'will to win' enough to create an upset?". Times Online - Daily Online Edition of The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  62. ^ "ICC Women's T20 World Cup, 2019/20 - Sri Lanka Women: Batting and bowling averages". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  63. ^ "Team India felicitates Sri Lanka's Shashikala Siriwardene who will draw curtains on international cricket after T20 WC". DNA India. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  64. ^ "Women's T20 World Cup: Shashikala Siriwardene shines on swansong as Sri Lanka crush Bangladesh". The Statesman. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  65. ^ "Siriwardene sets up Sri Lanka's victory in her final match". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  66. ^ "Shashikala Siriwardene retires from International Cricket". Daily News. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  67. ^ Scroll Staff (11 October 2020). "Women's T20 Challenge: Here are the squads led by Mithali Raj, Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana". Scroll.in. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  68. ^ Fernando, Chandrika. "Chamari, Shashikala in spotlight as Women's IPL begins today". Daily News. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  69. ^ "The case for rest days, more games, and better investment in women's cricket in subcontinent". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  70. ^ "New experience playing in bio-bubble - Shashikala Siriwardene". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  71. ^ "Player-of-the-Match"-award-in-final-WC-T20-encounter-with "Shashikala Siriwardene bids farewell with "Player of the Match" award in final WC T20 encounter with Bangladesh". www.lankanewsweb.net. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  72. ^ "Sri Lanka women stars 'jobless'". 29 October 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  73. ^ "Sri Lanka women cricketers recruited by security forces". BBC News. 13 June 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  74. ^ "Sri Lanka women cricketers recruited by security forces". www.adaderana.lk. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  75. ^ "Cricket and the military | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  76. ^ Thawfeeq, Sa’adi. "Conflict among senior players, lack of team unity downfall of women's cricket - Devapriya". Daily News. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  77. ^ "Former SL Captain blasts incompetent selectors". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
edit

  Media related to Shashikala Siriwardene at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shashikala_Siriwardene&oldid=1242067792"