5 current bowlers who struggle away from home in Tests

3. Rangana Herath

Rangana Herath has been Sri Lanka’s prime spinner in Tests ever since Muralitharan’s retirement

Ever since the great Muttiah Muralitharan retired, Rangana Herath has carried the mantle in the spin bowling department for Sri Lanka, and to be honest, he has been successful to a large extent. But that has been only because the left-arm spinner has played most of his games in the subcontinent, majorly in Sri Lanka, because if we take a look at his stats outside the comfortable premises of the island nation, a shocking revelation would come into the picture. 203 out his 300 Test wickets have been taken in Sri Lanka from 38 Tests. From the remaining 31 Tests that Herath has played outside Sri Lanka, he has picked up just 97 wickets at an average of just over 39.

This is in stark contrast to his home average, which is 24.58 in addition to his decent strike rate of 54.4. Outside Sri Lanka, the most that he has played in any country is England, where the veteran has played 7 Tests and has picked up 17 wickets at an average of 47.58, followed by New Zealand, where he has played 4 and has picked up 8 wickets at 64. In South Africa, India, and Australia, the 38-year-old has played 3 Tests each and has bowling averages of 27.70, 48.81 and 33.91 respectively.

Sri Lanka’s prime spinner, who has made Galle and Colombo two of his favourite fortresses, hasn’t been able to replicate similar kind of performances whenever he has stepped out of his homely comforts.