Lasith Malinga predicts big future ahead for rising star Dunith Wellalage

Former Sri Lankan Fast bowler Lasith Malinga has opened up on Dunith Wellalage' future.

Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage has become a rising star in Sri Lanka cricket after his magnificent opening spell of bowling against team India at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Dunith Wellalage became an overnight sensation in cricket after picking up Indian top-order batters in consecutive overs. Indian captain Rohit Sharma, opener Shubman Gill, and number 3 Virat Kohli all succumbed to his magical spin bowling performance in the super 4 encounter; later on, he went on to pick up five wickets in the inning. Now, former Sri Lankan pace bowler Lasith Malinga has predicted big things for Dunith Wellalage.

Lasith Malinga predict big for Dunith Wellalage

T20 World Cup-winning captain Lasith Malinga took to social media and predicted that Dunith Wellalage is on the way to becoming the most important player for Sri Lanka for the next decade. Malinga tweeted, "It is fair to say that Sri Lanka played with 12 players today. That’s how good Dunith was. He’s got a brilliant head on his young shoulders to go with his all-around skill set. I believe he is on his way to becoming the most important player for Sri Lanka in ODIs for the next decade." Dunith Wellalage was also the highest scorer for Sri Lanka in the game.

Dunith Wellalage may not have had the opportunity to represent his national side if Wanindu Hasaranaga had been there with Sri Lankan camp. Hasaranga got injured, and that paved the way for Dunith Wellalage to showcase his talent in big tournaments like Asia Cup. So far in the tournament, Wellalage has been on a great run and hasn’t gone wicketless in any game. He did well with the bat in two innings to provide Sri Lanka with more power in the lower-order. Wellalage scored 33 runs against Afghanistan and then 42 unbeaten against India.

Indian openers were going strong in the power play and added 80 runs in 11 overs for the first wicket. Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka changed his strategy and went for spinners from both ends. Wellalage didn’t take long to castle Shubman Gill (19), and then in the next two overs, he sent Virat Kohli (3) and captain Rohit Sharma (53) back into the hut. Later on, he also picked up KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to complete his 5-wickets haul. Dunith added 63 runs with Dhananjaya De Silva for the 7th wicket but couldn’t finish the game against India.