Ruwan Kalpage - Sri Lanka - Batsman

Ruwan Kalpage was a steady performer for Sri Lanka, especially in the shorter format of the game. He was known for his control as an off-spinner, a handy batsman and sharp in the field, too. Kalpage, made his ODI debut in a bilateral series against Pakistan back in 1992. He played in the 1992 World Cup that was held in Australia, but without much success. It was the next year, when Kalpage started to put up notable performances.

Kalpage's spell of 3 for 34 in an ODI against England in Colombo in 1993 helped the hosts to beat a listless English set-up. When the West Indies toured Sri Lanka later that year, Kalpage picked up a four-for in Colombo and that in turn resulted in the home team upsetting the applecart, and overcoming a formidable Caribbean outfit. He was in fine form in the ODI series against Pakistan in 1994, though Sri Lanka lost that series at home.

However, with the emergence of Muttiah Muralitaran and Kumar Dharmasena, he could play for Sri Lanka only sporadically. He hung up his spiked boots in 1999. In Test cricket, Kalpage had a modest record. There were occasions, when he shone brightly with the bat, especially it is hard to forget his battling fifty in a losing cause against India in Bangalore in 1994. But, looked largely ineffective with the ball.

After retiring from the game, Kalpage has been involved in coaching. He was appointed as the assistant fielding coach of Sri Lanka till 2001, before taking over as the fielding coach. He served in that position up to 2005. He has also served as the coach of Under-15, Under-19 and Sri Lanka's A team. Interestingly, he was even a computer analyst for the Sri Lankan team in 2004. So, it is clear that he has donned many roles during his career.

By Bharath Ramaraj