True to their tradition, Sri Lanka have once again produced a mystery spinner in 18-year-old Kevin Koththigoda.
Muttiah Muralitharan ended up as Sri Lanka’s most successful spinner as Ajantha Mendis was another spinner who had bamboozled batsmen with his mysterious action. With Koththigoda being the latest entrant, Sri Lanka cricket continues it custom of getting mysterious spinners on board.
Currently Koththigoda is plying his trade for Sri Lanka Under-19 team taking part in the Youth Asia Cup in Malaysia, according to a Cricbuzz report.
Coached by a former Sri Lanka ‘A’ opener Dhammika Sudarshana at Richmond College, Galle, Koththigoda has a similar action to a former South African spinner.
“He has a very unusual action. It’s like that of Paul Adams. The action wasn’t coached or anything, it came naturally to him. Initially, he was struggling with the length as he couldn’t see the pitch, but he has improved tremendously,” Sudarshana told Cricbuzz. “Since his action is unique, the batsmen get confused,” he said, adding that the youngster is also a good fielder and a decent batsman.
“He has an incredible action, but lands the ball in the right areas. He is a lovely kid and has a good future,” said Sarath Asoka, an umpire who has officiated in games Koththigoda played in.
Here’s a glimpse of the youngster’s action: