Deneth Lanka an outstanding cricketer of Dharmaraja
Deneth Lanka, an Old Boy of Dharmaraja College,Kandy is a fine all-round Cricketer who started playing cricket from Grade Six onwards under the coaching of Gamini Debahapuwa, former Air-Force Cricketer and later under Senaka Dissanayake, talented Cricket Coach of the School. As a Junior Cricket player Deneth Lanika showed his talent in cricket and he was appointed as the Captain of the Under Seventeen Cricket team and he led the Dharmaraja Cricket team up-to Quarter Final stage.
He played for the School First Eleven team as an off-spinner and right hand batsman and scored 550 runs and bagged 64 wickets in the year 2010. In the following year in 2011 he scored 650 runs and claimed 75 wickets and in 2012 he scored 725 runs and claimed 890 wickets.
In 2013/14 Cricket season Deneth Lanka scored 879 runs including Two centuries against St. Sylvesters’ College, Kandy and Mahinda College,Galle and bagged 92 wickets as the Captain of the team. Apart from this he led the side to victory in the ‘Big Match’ and Limited Over Match against Kingswood College,Kandy representing from 2011 to 2013 and he won ‘School Colours’ and in his final year received the highest Award of ‘Dagoba’ for Cricket in the year 2014. When he was playing for the Under 15 and Under 19 Cricket teams in the School he was selected to the Sri Lanka Schools Squad and in the year 2014 under his Captaincy, Dharmaraja College became Champions of the Central Province Schools Tournament. While playing School Cricket he represented Kandy Cricket Club in the Division One Cricket tournament and represented Moors Cricket Club in the Under Twenty Five Limited over Cricket tournament and scored Three half Centuries. In 2016/17 Season he played in the Fifty over Cricket tournament and scored Fifty against Old Thurstan and Customs. In 2017 he played for Seville Cricket Club of Melbourne,Australia for Five Months and claimed 34 wickets in five matches. In the year 2018 he represented the Premier League T/20 match of Ports Authority Cricket team. At Present he has signed up with Kalutara CC under the Captaincy of Gihan Rupasinghe and his intention is to represent Sri Lanka either in Test, Limited Over or T/20 Cricket and he is thankful to his School cricket Coaches, Gamini Debahapuwa and Senaka Dissanayake for the guidance given to him to become a talented Cricketer.