Sanjeeva Ranatunga - Sri Lanka - Batsman

Better known as the younger brother of legendary Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga, Sanjeeva Ranatunga’s had a very brief international career, in the 1990s. While he was gifted with the bat like his brother, the temperament to succeed at the big stage was something that Sanjeeva lacked. He was a dominant customer in the domestic circuit of Sri Lanka and piled runs en route to a National call up in 1994. When he had scored centuries in successive Tests (in his second and third matches respectively), it did seem like the Lankans had unearthed another batting star. However, overseas conditions were a massive obstacle for the left-handed Sanjeewa who lacked the grit and spunk to iron out his deficiencies. As a result, a blip in form occurred and saw him being dropped from the side. He did make a comeback but that was restricted to a solitary outing. After his retirement days, Sanjeewa has been active in the field of commentary and has also been a match referee.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan