Early Life

Hemantha first learned to play cricket from his father, Sujith Hemantha, who is also a cricket coach. His passion and enthusiasm for cricket was discovered by his father when Hemantha was just seven years old. Hemantha initially showed signs of being an off-spinner, but his father talked him into bowling leg-spin, thinking he might have better cunning and thereby have a better chance of bowling accurately to close the wickets get hold of.

He was persuaded by Sajith Jayalal, who then served as national track and field coach, to join the junior track and field team. However, Hemantha initially turned down the offer, but after some negotiation and deliberation, agreed to join the junior national squad. Finally, that same year, he competed at the South Asian Junior Athletics Championships, winning a bronze medal in the men's 1500m sprint category. He continued to compete in sporting zone events and sporting events while furthering his cricket ambitions.

He completed his secondary school at St. Peter's College. In the 2012/13 season he captained his school's under-19 team and won the Best Captain award at the All Island School Cricket Awards. Under the watchful eye of his school coaches L.H. Sunil and Keerthi Gunaratne, he rose to prominence during his school days.

He represented St. Peter's College in the annual Battle of the Blues Grand Match for four consecutive years. In 2010, he made his first Big Match appearance and St. Peter's College eventually secured victory and recorded their first Battle of the Blues Big Match victory in a long hiatus of 32 years. He was named vice-captain of St Peter's College in the 2012 Battle of the Blues game and played a crucial role in helping his school win the 78th Battle of the Blues game, collecting seven wickets for the game and thus defeating the rival St. . Joseph's College.

He had an outstanding 2012–13 school cricket season in which he showcased his all-around ability by taking 60 wickets and scoring 840 runs. For his performance in the 2012/13 schools cricket season, he was named runner-up in the 2013 Sunday Observer Pupil Cricket Player of the Year.

Domestic Career

On 21 February 2014 he made his first-class debut for Colts Cricket Club in the 2013–14 Premier Trophy. He made his Twenty20 debut for Colts Cricket Club on 25 February 2014 against Hong Kong. He made his List A debut for Saracens Sports Club on 13 December 2014 against Colombo Cricket Club in the 2014–15 Premier Limited Overs tournament.

Hemantha played for the Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club in the 2017–18 Premier League Tier B tournament. On 2 February 2017, he recorded his first five-wicket first-class success, going 7-62, against Lankan Cricket Club. He also celebrated his first century in first class cricket on 29 December 2017, scoring 193 runs against Panadura Sports Club.

He scored his first List A half-century on 4 March 2019 against Moors Sports Club in the 2018–19 Premier Limited Overs tournament. He played for Burgher Recreation Club in the 2020–21 Major Clubs Limited Over Tournament. On April 3, 2021, he celebrated his first century in List A cricket against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club.

Hemanth clinched his first five-wicket win in List A cricket against Kandy Customs Sports Club in the 2021–22 Major Clubs Limited Over tournament on 21 November 2021.

In July 2022 he was signed by the Dambulla Giants for the third edition of the Lanka Premier League. He received his first appearance for the Sri Lanka A-Team for the series against England Lions after breaking through in the 2022/23 season as a representative of Burgher Recreation Club and showing his all-round talent with more than 500 runs with stick and ball under had proved and collect a record of 40 wickets.

He also played a crucial role in helping Dambulla win the 2023 National Super League Limited Overs Tournament by being the bowler's choice, taking 13 wickets with a healthy 13.61 average.

International Career

In January 2023 he was called up to the Sri Lanka A squad for their First Class and List A series against England Lions. On February 18, 2023, he scored a five-wicket win to help his team defeat the England Lions in the second unofficial ODI. He took eleven wickets in the List A series with a health average of 11.45 and was named a Player of the Series for his bowling performance.

In April 2023, Hemantha was called up to the Sri Lanka cricket team for the Test series against Ireland for the first time following his impressive performances against England Lions. He was due to play against Ireland in the second and final friendly of the series, but the Sri Lanka team management decided to stick with the winning combination after the first friendly.

In May 2023 he was called up to Sri Lanka's One Day International squad for the series against Afghanistan. He made his ODI debut in the first ODI of the series, on 2 June 2023.