Isuru Pannala |
Fifteen year old, Isuru Pannala a Grade Eleven student of Dharmaraja College, Kandy is a talented Cricketer who is a Wicket keeper batsman and started his cricket career at the age of Nine years under the coaching of Ananda Wijesekera.
Apart from batting, bowling and fielding Isuru learnt wicket keeping and as a Wicket keeper he got an opportunity to represent the Under 13 ‘B’ team of the School in the year 2016 under the Captaincy of Thisaru Wanninayake. At that time as a debutant he was unable to perform well but the following year in 2017 he was selected to the under 13 ‘A’ team and showed his class as a right hand batsman by scoring over 180 runs in five matches, his highest being scoring an unbeaten knock of 44 runs against Maris Stella College,Negombo and in the year 2018,as a third year player Isuru was appointed the Vice Captain of the Under 13 ‘A’ Cricket team.
Isuru showed his batting form to score over 150 runs in four matches,his highest being scoring 40 runs against St.Sylvesters’College, Kandy and in the year 2019 he secured a place in the Under 15 ‘A’ cricket team under the Captaincy of Dulara Bandulasena and scored over 150 runs at the Under 15 ‘A’ Division Cricket tournament organized by the Sri lanka Schools Cricket Association.
He made 51 runs against Trinity College as his highest score and in addition he did well as a wicket keeper too to get Twelve victims behind the stumps in the Cricket Season. In the Year 2020 although he was prevented from playing cricket due to the situation in the country he was ranked No.1 name by batsman.com in wicket keeping as his highest achievement being five stumpings and one caught behind the stumps and he scored an unbeaten knock of 35 runs against St.Peters’ Colombo.
Isuru Pannala being a talented wicket keeper of Dharmaraja Cricket team has been selected as the ‘Best Wicket Keeper’ by the SchoolboyCricketer contest and he was felicitated by the School authorities on December 18.and a Cash Award was presented to him which was awarded by the Old Boys Association of Colombo Branch and most of the past Cricketers attended this function including the President of Dharmaraja College Cricket Foundation,Col.Thanuja Godewatte. Isuru’s main intention is to continue Cricket to the highest level and he is thankful to his Coaches,MIC, POG and the Principal of the School for the guidance in Cricket.