Dasun Shanaka arrived on the international scene in T20 cricket before graduating to ODIs punctuated by a brief Test career which yielded just six matches over five years.
He enjoyed a memorable ODI debut in 2016, scoring 42 and taking a career-best 5-43 with his medium pace against Ireland.
However, he endured a miserable time during the World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe in June, managing just 12 runs and taking five wickets.
Captain since 2021, Shanaka needs to boost the morale of a team who were crushed by 10 wickets by India in the recent Asia Cup final on home ground in Colombo.
Here is the factfile on Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka ahead of the Cricket World Cup which gets underway in India on Thursday:
- Name: Dasun Shanaka
- Age: 32
- Playing role: All-rounder
- International ODI career
- Matches: 67
- Runs: 1,204
- Highest score: 108 not out
- Average: 22.29
- 100s: 2
- 50s: 3
- Wickets: 27
- Best bowling: 5-43
- Average: 34.11
