(Ref:Sunday observer)

He has been knocking at the door and waiting for this opportunity for a long period. His prayers were not answered despite being a prolific run getter in both forms of the game in the domestic scene.

But the day has finally dawned for Nishad Tharanga Paranavithana to put on the Sri Lankan cap as he has been selected to represent the country in the Test series against Pakistan. He is one of the good products of St. Mary's College Kegalle to represent the country after former Sri Lanka wicket keeper batsman Mahesh Gunatilleke.

This has been a dream come true for the 26 year old left hander from Kegalle where he completed a highly successful school cricket career at St. Mary's College. In fact Paranavithana was able to make vast strides in the school cricket scene where he piled up over one thousand runs for three successive years from 1999 to 2001.

In his final year at school he was able to make a lasting impression while scoring well over 1,500 runs including a career best 203 against Taxila MMV Horana and seven other centuries.

Not surprisingly he was picked as the most outstanding player and the best batsman in the outstation category.The other significant fact in his school career was that he had the credit of captaining all age groups namely under 13, 15, 17 and finally the first eleven under 19 team.

His talent and potential was so much that he was invited to represent the SSC under-23 team while still at school.This was following a request from the former Sri Lanka junior coach Owen Mathew and former Sri Lanka Academy coach Anura Tennekoon who realised the fact that this player would someday make his mark as a top class batsman.

After nearly a decade their ideas and thoughts have finally materialized and Tharanga Paranavithana is well set to launch his career in the big league that would carry him towards another era.

His career took a new turn after joining the Sri Lanka A team where he was able to make some significant contributions with the bat under the guidance of Coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Hathurusinghe always believed Tharanga was a gifted player.

(Ref:Sunday observer)