Virat Kohli Is The Player I Adored Since My Childhood - Dunith Wellalage

The 20-year-old Sri Lanka National Cricket Team all-rounder Dunith Wellalage has said that the India National Cricket Team batting great Virat Kohli is the player he has adored since his childhood.

Wellalage came into the limelight following his heroics in the Asia Cup 2023, which India won by defeating Sri Lanka in the summit clash. His best came in the Super Four game against India as he dismantled the Indian batting unit and bagged a sensational five-wicket haul and during the run-chase contributed an unbeaten 42. However, the Lankan Lions lost the game by 41 runs.

Meanwhile, Dunith Wellalage has said that Sri Lanka have got some good experienced players in the team and they can perform well at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 in India.

“We have players with the experience of playing around the world. We plan it match by match… I think we can give a good account of ourselves,” he was quoted as saying by the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Notably, Sri Lanka were unable to qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and they had to participate in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe to book a spot in the marquee tournament in India.

To take his wicket gave me a lot of satisfaction – Dunith Wellalage on Virat Kohli

Wellalage also said that he was gobsmacked after dismissing Kohli during the Asia Cup 2023. He said:

“From my childhood, the player I adored is Virat Kohli. To take his wicket gave me a lot of satisfaction. After I got his wicket, I couldn’t believe that I had done it.”

Wellalage added that he keeps things very simple while batting and tries to put the pressure back on the opposition. He elaborated:

“If you handle the situations correctly, batting becomes easy. When I get out to the middle, I always stick to simple plans,” he said.

“If there is a senior player at the other end, I try to support him. Otherwise, I try and rotate the strike as much as possible, reducing risky shots, and try and put the pressure back on the bowling side.”

Sri Lanka will begin their World Cup campaign against South Africa at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on October 07. They recently lost the warm-up game against Bangladesh and their second and last warm-up game before the main tournament is against Afghanistan on October 3.