Biography

Sri Lanka has a long history of producing great left-handed batsmen and Malinda Warnapura is the new addition to the list. It took a long time for the southpaw to play his first Test match. His first-class debut came in 1998-99 while he donned the national colours eight years later against Bangladesh. Malinda is an elegant opening batsman who is a strong player on the off side. He is also not afraid go over the top while facing the spinners. After a slow start to his international career where he saw himself in and out of the team, Warnapura made his mark by scoring his maiden Test ton against West Indies. He followed it up with yet another century in the home Test series against India. It will be interesting to see whether he can fill in the big boots as a Lankan opener.