Who is Dunith Wellalage? 5 interesting facts about Sri Lanka spinner who took 5/40 vs India in Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match

Dunith Wellalage bowled the most impressive spell of his career today (Tuesday) in the Asia Cup 2023 match between India and Sri Lanka. The left-arm spinner accounted for five big wickets and helped Sri Lanka reduce India to 197/9 after 47 overs in the first innings.

Wellalage opened his account by dismissing Shubman Gill. He followed it up with the big wickets of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. On the final ball of his spell, Wellalage got the outside edge of Hardik Pandya's bat and dismissed him caught behind.

In this listicle, we will look at the five interesting things you need to know about Dunith Wellalage.

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#1 Steve Smith was Dunith Wellalage's 1st international wicket

Wellalage received his maiden ODI cap last year during the series between Sri Lanka and Australia. Playing his debut game at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Wellalage opened his account with the wicket of Steve Smith.

The left-arm spinner rattled Smith's stumps shortly after the Australian batter completed his half-century. Wellalage also picked up Ashton Agar's wicket to finish with figures of 2/49 in seven overs. Sri Lanka lost that game by two wickets via D/L method.

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#2 Dunith Wellalage picked up RCB star Anuj Rawat's wicket in Asia Cup U-19 Final 2018

Wellalage started representing the Sri Lanka U-19 team at the age of 15 only. He was born in 2003, but he received a place in Sri Lanka's U-19 squad that finished runners-up in the U-19 Asia Cup 2018.

Current Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star Anuj Rawat opened the batting for India U-19s in the final. Rawat scored 57 runs before Wellalage trapped him LBW. India U-19s crushed Sri Lanka U-19s by 144 runs in that match.

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#3 Dunith Wellalage remained unsold at IPL 2023 Auction

The IPL 2023 Auction took place last December, where a lot of players from Sri Lanka registered themselves. Quite a few Sri Lankan players, including Wellalage, remained unsold at the auction.

Looking at his performance today against the top stars of India, it should not be a surprise if one of the 10 IPL teams hand him a deal at the next auction. He can be a match-winner while playing on the pitches of Chennai or Lucknow.

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#4 Dunith Wellalage was 4 years old when Rohit Sharma won ICC T20 World Cup

Wellalage picked up the big wicket of Rohit Sharma in the Asia Cup 2023 match between India and Sri Lanka. Fans should note that the Sri Lankan spinner was only four years old when Sharma lifted the T20 World Cup title with the Indian team in 2007.

Sharma is among the oldest cricketers playing in the Asia Cup 2023, whereas Wellalage is among the youngest players.

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#5 Remained wicketless against India in bilateral series earlier this year

Sri Lanka toured India earlier this year for a three-match series. Wellalage bowled a spell of 0/65 in eight overs in the match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, followed by 0/12 in two overs at the Eden Gardens.

He came in as a concussion substitute for Jeffrey Vandersay in the third ODI of the series. Wellalage only batted in that game and managed three runs off 13 balls.