Swardeston are delighted to announce our overseas club professional for the 2022 season – Sri Lankan all rounder Saranga Rajaguru.
The 29-year-old right-arm leg spinner bats left handed and has been playing for Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo this winter. Sinhalese’s ground is the headquarters of Sri Lanka Cricket and a venue for Test matches. Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardane is the chairman of the cricket section at SSC.
Saranga played for March Town CC in 2018, 2019 and 2021 so is very experienced in English conditions. He was player of the year in 2019 when he scored 1,311 runs and took 71 wickets. Saranga is also a Level 2 ECB qualified coach and last year was working in the Chance to Shine programme for Cambridgeshire Cricket Board.
Saranga, who flew into the UK on 6 April, made his first-class debut for Nondescripts Cricket Club in the 2013–14 Premier Trophy. Prior to his first-class debut, he was part of Sri Lanka’s squad for the 2010 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
Swardeston 1st XI captain Lewis Denmark said: “We’re delighted to welcome Saranga to Swardeston this summer. He brings a wealth of experience having played first-class cricket in Sri Lanka and has been the professional at March Town Cricket Club in Cambridgeshire for three out of the last four seasons.
“Replacing Joe Gatting is an almost impossible task, however, Saranaga will offer something different to the last couple of seasons as he’s predominantly a right-arm leg spinner who bats left-handed and will bat in the middle order.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what he can bring to an already strong squad that we have in place and hope he can help us challenge across all competitions. Here’s hoping for a hot, dry summer.”
Saranga said: “It’s an honour to give my service to Swardeston. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity and I’m very much looking forward to it.
“I’ve had a very enjoyable season with Sinhalese. Our head coach is Thilina Kandamby, who was the two times winning head coach of Jaffna kings in the SLPL. We also have Dimuth Karunarathne, the Sri Lanka Test captain and Dasun Shanaka, current ODI and T20 captain, along with nine active national players in the line-up.”
