Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara (born 22 July 1982) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. Kulasekara was number one in the ODI bowlers rankings on March 11, 2009 and remained in that position until September 26 of that year, becoming the only Sri Lankan to achieve the feat.

Nuwan Kulasekara is a cricketer who plays for the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He has been part of the team since 2003 and has enjoyed a successful period with the team. Nuwan Kulasekara was born on July 22, 1982 in Nittambuwa, Sri Lanka. Nuwan Kulasekara made his debut with the Sri Lanka national cricket team in 2003 in ODI format.

He was also a key member of the team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and was part of the team that reached the finals of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and 2012 ICC World Twenty20 . In June 2016, Kulasekara retired from Test cricket to play limited overs cricket. In July 2019 he announced his retirement from international cricket. The third ODI between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on July 31, 2019 was dedicated to Kulasekara.

International Career

Kulasekara made his One Day International debut against England on 18 November 2003 in Dambulla. He took 2-19 as England were rolled out for 88 and it took Sri Lanka under 14 overs to win the match by 10 wickets. Kulasekara made his Test cricket debut against New Zealand on 4 April 2005 in Napier, New Zealand as Sri Lanka's 100th Test cap. During the match he took just one wicket and scored a duck when the match was drawn.

Kulasekara made his Twenty20 International debut on October 11, 2008 against Pakistan. He secured 36 carries in 3.5 overs despite Pakistan winning the match by three wickets.

In 2008, Kulasekara took 4 for 40 against India. During the Bangladesh Tri-Series, he helped his team defeat Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. On January 25, 2009, Kulasekara was ranked number two in the ICC rankings for ODI bowlers. He took 45 wickets for an average of 20.97, which included five wickets in the last two ODIs of the series against Pakistan.

Kulasekara led the 2008 ICC ODI rankings for bowlers with 724 points. He took 47 wickets at 20.97 in 29 matches with a strike rate of 28.00 and a save rate of 4.45. Kulasekara was ranked as the number one ODI bowler on March 11, 2009 and remained in that position through September 26 of that year. The retirement of Chaminda Vaas and the inconsistency of Lasith Malinga helped him establish himself as the Sri Lanka team's star strike bowler. His spell of 4 for 41 in Colombo was nominated as one of the best ODI bowling performances of the year.

Kulasekara was a member of the World ODI Team (under Captain MS Dhoni) in 2009, which was announced during the ICC Awards. On 23 May 2010 against New Zealand, he ripped through New Zealand's batting in his first over by three wickets, finishing with three runs for four. Sri Lanka won the match by seven wickets and Kulasekara was the man of the match. He was called up to the test group for the West Indies series in 2010.

Ups and Downs

Kulasekara and Malinga led the Sri Lanka team since their debut in 2003 and 2004 where they won matches together. During a Twenty20 international match against England in Bristol, they produced game-winning combined numbers of three wickets for 30 runs in seven overs. Sri Lanka won the match by nine wickets.

Kulasekara was injured in October 2012 and played in the semifinals of the national over-fifties tournament. He made a comeback with two for 37 in seven overs for Colts Cricket Club against Nondescripts and was recalled for the Test and ODI series against South Africa. Kulasekara didn't play in the Test series, but played all five ODIs without distinction; he took two wickets in a row at an average of 107.00.

After a CB series in Australia, he was recalled to the Test squad for the Pakistan series in 2012. Kulasekara was the highest wicket-taker in the two-game T20I series against Pakistan, taking four wickets with an average of 6.50; the series was drawn 1:1. Kulasekara and Malinga each took seven wickets during the ODI series in Pakistan, which Sri Lanka won 3-0.

In July 2012, Kulasekara was ruled out of the five-ODI series against India after suffering an injury in the first game while trying to catch Virender Sehwag in the eleventh over. On October 25 of that year he was appointed vice-captain of the Sri Lankan T20I team for their tour against New Zealand.

On January 18, 2013, Kulasekara had his first (and only) five-wicket match using inswing bowling in the third ODI against Australia in Brisbane. His 5/22 bowling figures were the best of his ODI career. Australia collapsed to 74 overall and Sri Lanka won by four wickets. Kulasekara's performance was nominated as one of the Best ODI Bowling Performances of 2013.

Kulasekara played England in the ODI series in 2014 and Sri Lanka won the series 3-2. In the second ODI, he and Sachithra Senanayake bowled England for 99 runs for their worst ODI performance at home. Kulasekara took 3 for 15 runs and Sri Lanka eventually won the match by 157 runs.

During a 2014 ICC World Twenty20 game against the Netherlands, Kulasekara set a record for the most economical bowling spell in a T20I or T20 World Cup game (0.00). He threw two overs without conceding a run; The Netherlands were bowled for 43, the lowest T20I total.

Kulasekara holds the world record for most T20I maiden overs (six). It was named T20I XI of the year by CricBuzz in 2014 for its limited performance. Kulasekara forged a bowling partnership with Malinga and helped Sri Lanka win the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 by bowling four overs against powerful Indian batters. Sri Lanka won 20 out of 32 ODIs that year, a win ratio of 62.5.

Also in 2014, Sri Lanka went to India for an ODI series. They were whitewashed 5–0 in the series, the first such result in Sri Lankan cricket history. Rohit Sharma scored the highest total individual ODI score (264); Kulasekara took 1 for 89 in nine overs and missed the England series.

However, on 30 December 2014 he was recalled to the ODI squad for the series against New Zealand at home. Kulasekara was the T20 Bowler of the Year at the 2015 Sri Lanka Cricket Awards. He was overlooked for the July series against Pakistan that year (after his World Cup campaign) but was recalled to the ODI squad for the series against the West Indies.

On December 18, 2015, Kulasekara replaced the injured Dhammika Prasad in Sri Lanka's ODI squad against New Zealand. Sri Lanka won just one game in the series, losing in all three formats. In the first ODI, Kulasekara scored his fourth ODI fifty; He and Milinda Siriwardana formed a 98-run partnership. He was sacked for 58 runs and Sri Lanka scored 188 overall; New Zealand won the match by seven wickets. He played at the Asia Cup in 2016 and then at the ICC World Twenty20 in India in 2016,

On November 5, 2016, Kulasekara was recalled for the Tri-Series with Zimbabwe and West Indies; [56] he picked up two wickets against West Indies to go with his two in the first game against Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka won the series by beating Zimbabwe in the final and Kulasekara won a wicket in that final. He was the third-highest wicket-taker in the series, with eight wickets and an average of 22.50. During the Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka in 2017, Kulasekara helped Sri Lanka end its ODI drought by taking four wickets for 37 runs; Sri Lanka won the third ODI match by 70 runs.

Franchise Cricket

On 29 April 2009, Kulasekara was called up to the Kings XI Punjab squad as an emergency replacement for injured Australian batsman Shaun Marsh. He joined the Chennai Super Kings for the 2011 Indian Premier League season.

Kulasekara starred in the domestic T20I series for the Kandurat Maroons. In the final against Basnahira Greens he took three wickets winning the match. Kandurata won the match by seven wickets and was selected for the 2013 Twenty20 Champions League.

Kulasekara played for Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League in 2015. During the match against Rangpur Riders on 27 November 2015, he took four wickets for 12 runs. In 2016, Kulasekara signed a short-term NatWest T20 Blast contract with the Sussex Sharks.

Retirement

On 1 June 2016, Kulasekara announced his retirement from Test cricket to focus on limited internationals. He played 21 Tests, recorded 48 wickets and played his last Test in June 2014 at Lord's (a draw).

Malinga also announced his retirement from ODI cricket after the first ODI series in Bangladesh. Sri Lanka Cricket announced that the third ODI series is dedicated to Kulasekara. Sri Lanka won the match, knocking out Bangladesh in the series 3-0.

Coaching Career

He has been appointed bowling coach of the Kandy Tuskers franchise for the 2020 Lanka Premier League, also marking his first coaching stint in his career.

Records

• Highest ODI score for Sri Lanka at batting at position eight - 73
• Only the Sri Lankan cricketer ranked first in the ODI rankings
• Most economical ban in a T20I by any bowler - 0.00 vs. Netherlands
• Only bowler to record 0.00 economy in a T20I
• Most maidens in a T20I - five