Saleela Lakshani does Mahamaya proud
Eighteen year old Saleela Lakshani, is a Grade13 student in the Commerce stream of Mahamaya Girls’ College,Kandy and a talented Girls Cricketer who started her cricket career under the coaching of the writer assisted by E.M.U.Chandrathilak, both qualified Cricket coaches.Saleela Lakshani is a bowling all-rounder who started her Cricket career in the year 2016 and she is a brilliant fielder at any position who used to take spectacular catches to help her team to win a number of Cricket matches. She is a right arm medium pace bowler who bagged Three wickets for Thirty runs at the Kandy District Girls’ Schools Cricket tournament matches against St.Anthonys’ Girls School in the finals.
In the following year in 2017 she showed her consistency in bowling when she Captured more than Fourteen wickets, best being Three wickets for Sixteen runs under the Captaincy of Udara Bandara who is the fastest bowler among the Hill Capital Schools. Under Udara’s Captaincy Mahamaya became one of the Best Eight Girls’ Cricket teams at the Division II Girls’ Schools Cricket tournament.
In 2018 Mahamaya Girls’ Cricket team could not participate at the All Island Schools Cricket tournament due to unavoidable circumstances and their Cricket Matches were limited to district level. The Cricket matches had to be postponed for sometime due to the Covid epidemic but this year she is playing for the Girls’ Cricket team as the most senior player of the team and she is re-presenting the School at the on-going Cricket tournament organized by the Sri Lanka Cricket Association.This year in their first match against St.Anthonys’ Girls School she took Two wickets for Thirty runs but Mahamaya lost the game.
Saleela Lakshani’s intention is to improve her talent in Cricket further and face the forthco-ming Cricket matches and her main ambition is to be able to get selected to the Provincial Development Cricket Squad of Sri Lanka Cricket while doing her higher studies. She is thankful to her Coaches as well as the School authorities for the support given to her in her sports career.