Pinnaduwage Aravinda De Silva

Profile:

Aravinda de Silva stands out as the finest Sri Lankan batsman to play international cricket in their 20-year Test history. A recent CricInfo poll even suggested that he was the greatest ever batsman to emerge from the emerald island. During his younger days he was frequently reckless and labeled "Mad Max," but in 1995 he emerged as a truly world-class batsman after a one-year stint with Kent County Cricket Club. His natural ability was wedded to greater professionalism and he started a two-year purple patch. The greatest moment in his career undoubtedly being his performance in the 1996 World Cup when he won four Man of the Match awards and smashed a scintillating unbeaten century against the Australians in the final. But De Silva's career has also been dogged by controversy. He has had frequent spats with the Sri Lankan selectors over his fitness and in 2000 his name was mentioned in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report into match fixing. However, he was later cleared by a Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka (BCCSL) inquiry into the allegations levied by bookmaker Mukesh Gupta. After the 1999 World Cup, his career started to nose dive. He was thrown out of the one-day team and was no longer guaranteed a permanent berth in the Test team. He played his last Test against England in March 2001 before falling out of shape and out of favour with the selectors. For a while his career seemed over but he refused to retire, and when Michael Tissera was appointed chairman of a fresh selection panel in January 2002, he was given fresh hope of an international providing he prove his fitness, which he has now done. Now 36 years old, there may still be a final and fitting finale for one of the most stylish and exciting cricketers the world has seen.