Thongsbridge is celebrating the festive season with the signing of Sri Lankan sensation Sonal Dinusha for their 2021 Drakes Huddersfield League campaign.

Schoolboy prodigy to first-class pro

Sonal Dinusha is an outstanding prospect playing professional cricket for the star-studded Colombo Cricket Club in Sri Lankan domestic cricket.

In a side featuring a raft of international players, Dinusha has managed to cement his spot courtesy of his exploits with both bat and ball.

A genuine all-rounder, Dinusha bats in the top order, and is equally adept opening, or in the middle-order. With the ball, he is a left-arm spinner who has dominated at every level to date.

A veteran of 36 matches for the Sri Lankan Under-19s (July 2018-Feb 2020), to include the ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa (Jan-Feb 2020), Dinusha has long been regarded as a player set for the big stage.

A schoolboy prodigy, Dinusha skippered the prestigious Mahanama College (Colombo) and was one of the stand-out performers. He played 3 years of the College 1st XI and dominated the Under-19 Division 1 run and wicket charts.

Sonal in action for Sri Lanka U19s. (c) Getty Images

A genuine all-rounder

In his 29 Two-Day matches, he churned out 1,137 runs at 43.73 (4x100s, 5x50s) alongside 64 wickets at 13.41 (2x5w). In 2018/19, he averaged 54.30 and 12.93 with bat and ball, respectively, which preceded his 2019/20 efforts averaging 63.25 and 28.

Alongside his schoolboy cricket, Dinusha was making a name for himself in Sri Lankan domestic cricket. He made his CCC debut in November 2018, hitting 59 against Sinhalese, but had to wait 18 months before his next half-century – a brilliant 75* against Negombo (Feb 2020).

Bowling opportunities during the initial stages of his first-class career were limited, however, this all changed in March 2020 he was rewarded with 36.2 overs against Colts Cricket Club. Dinusha, who had only bowled 2 overs in his previous two first-class outings, enjoyed a breath-taking match taking figures of 11-155 (6-55, 5-100) – alongside scores of 26 and 30*, to prove his all-round talent.

Dinusha signs for Thongsbridge

Dinusha has announced himself in domestic cricket and is now eager to continue his development in the UK next summer having recently signed with Thongsbridge for their 2021 Drakes Huddersfield League campaign.