Sri Lanka unearth another mystery spinner Kevin Koththigoda | Page 2 | Daily News

Sri Lanka unearth another mystery spinner Kevin Koththigoda

Kevin Koththigoda bowling with his unusual action.
Kevin Koththigoda bowling with his unusual action.

Spinners with unorthodox actions have always been a talking point in rival camps. So when 18-year-old Kevin Koththigoda bowled in the ongoing U-19 Asia Cup in Malaysia, Sri Lanka’s opponents kept talking about him.

The leg-spinner has a bowling action similar to former South Africa chinaman Paul Adams.

Koththigoda, who hails from Unawatuna, is a right-arm leg-spinner and has featured in Sri Lanka’s 61-run win against Afghanistan. He took one wicket in that match.

Koththigoda was nurtured by former Sri Lanka ‘A’ opener Dhammika Sudarshana at Richmond College, Galle’s leading school that has produced several Test cricketers.

“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 said.

“He came with his parents and asked me whether he could change schools. It was a fair request and we didn’t have any objections,” Sudarshana explained.

“Since his action is unique, the batsmen get confused. He is an excellent fielder and a decent batsman. He has got a very bright future ahead of him,” Sudarshana added.


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