Rangana Herath

At 46 years old, Rangana Herath has this physical status:

Herath Mudiyanselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath, commonly known as Rangana Herath (born 19 March 1978), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer, who played all forms of the game and a former Test captain for Sri Lanka.

Considered as one of the greatest spin bowlers of all time, Herath is the most successful left arm bowler in Test Cricket history. Herath is a specialist left-arm bowler for Sri Lanka and holds the record of best bowling figures in Test matches by a left-arm spinner with 433 wickets.

On 11 March 2017, Herath surpassed 362 wickets by Daniel Vettori to become the most successful left-arm spinner in Test cricket history.

He is the first left-arm spinner to take 400 Test wickets.

On 10 February 2018 during Bangladesh tour, Herath became the most successful left-arm bowler in Test cricket history by surpassing Wasim Akram.

He has the longest Test Cricket Career for Sri Lanka with spanned for 19 Years from 1999 to 2018. On 29 May 2016, Herath became the third Sri Lankan bowler to take 300 wickets in Test cricket history after Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas.

On 8 November 2016, Herath became only the third bowler in history to take five-wicket hauls against all Test-playing nations.

On 2 October 2017, he became the second Sri Lankan bowler to take 400 test wickets.

He is the oldest player to reach 350 as well as 400 Test wickets. On 23 October 2016, Herath was announced as captain for Sri Lanka tour to Zimbabwe.

Angelo Mathews, the regular captain, was injured.

With this he became the oldest Sri Lankan player to lead a Test team for the first time and from any country since Tom Graveney in 1968.On 22 October 2018, he announced his retirement from international cricket after the first Test at Galle against England.

On 6 November 2018, he played in his final Test in Galle.

In the first innings of the match, he became the third bowler to take 100 Test wickets at the same venue, when he dismissed the England captain Joe Root.

After the match, Herath said that it was "the right time" to retire, finishing his career with 433 Test wickets, the most for a left-arm spin bowler.

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Personal life and early and domestic work.

Herath was born in 1978 in the small village of Waduwawa, Kurunegala, on the southeastern tip of the Northwestern Province, as the second of the family. Deepthi Herath, his elder brother, is the same as him. He was introduced to opening batting in school days and performed as a pact until his coach told him to start spinning bowling due to the height issue. Herath was working at Sampath Bank as a clerk when he met Chandika Hathurusingha's brother before starting to work as a clerk.

Herath began his cricket career at his first college, Mayurapada Central College in Narammala. He then migrated to Maliyadeva College in Kurunegala. Rangana Herath was a member of the Kurunegal Youth Cricket Club in 1996-97 cricket season and now plays for Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club in Sri Lankan first-class cricket. He played for Moors Sports Club from 1998-99 to 2009-10 in local first-class cricket. In the 2004 SLC Twenty20 Tournament, he made his Twenty20 debut for Moors Sports Club on August 17, 2004. During the second half of the 2009 English cricket season, he also played for Surrey. Herath left Hampshire in April 2010, where he competed in the first half of the 2010 County Championship.

Herath was named in Dambulla's squad for the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament in March 2018.

International career

In 1999, Herath made his Test debut against Australia at Galle International Stadium, Sri Lanka. In 2004, he made his One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club, five years later. Herath was ranked as the 13th Test match bowler in the world during the 2016 England series, having reached the top of the charts in 2012.

Despite Herath's Test debut in 1999, he never rose to fame as a leading spinner until Muralitharan's retirement. Herath made a fruitful return to Test cricket against Pakistan in 2009 and took over the mantle of Sri Lanka's top spin bowler, Muralitharan. After Muralitharan's retirement, former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene rated Herath as Sri Lanka's top bowler.

Herath emerged from obscurity against Australia in 1999 after playing second in the team behind maestro Muttiah Muralitharan's shadow for a long time. Following an incredible A tour to England, he fell into the national side. Herath, who had been involved in two practice matches in the series, deceived the visitors with a presentation that went the other way. Against the Australians, he took six test wickets. Herath made a comeback to the Test field by taking 15 wickets in the 3 match Test series versus Sri Lanka, with Pakistan also winning the man-of-the-match award in the first Test. In the second Test of the two-match Test-series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand, Herath took 8 wickets. Sri Lanka won and a series of victories as a result of the previous intervention.

During the home series against India, Herath appeared only in the test at Galle. Despite Sri Lanka's victory, Harbhajan Singh was only able to capture Harbhajan Singh's wicket in the match. In November 2010, Herath was recalled for her second test match against the West Indies. He took three wickets in the first innings in a match played at the newly renovated R. Premadasa Stadium. Herath took nine wickets in her second Test of Sri Lanka's tour of South Africa in December 2011 and received the Man of the Match award. Sri Lanka won the game by 208 runs; it was their first Test victory in South Africa.

During the first test match of the 2012 England test series, Herath took 12 wickets. His match winning performance helped him to win the "Man of the Match" award in Galle. Herath was England's latest spin tormentor with 6 for 74 in the first inning, but he took another 6 wickets for just 97 runs and announced Sri Lanka's victory against the touring English team.

In the 2014 World T20, Herath defeated New Zealand 5-3, a feat that helped Sri Lanka qualify for the tournament's semi-finals. Sri Lanka eventually won the tournament, and Herath's spell was dubbed the Wisden Men's T20I spell of the decade in 2019.

Herath took nine wickets in 127 runs in the first innings of the second Test against Pakistan, the highest figures for a left-arm bowler in Test cricket. In both Test matches, he was man of the match and also man of the series.

Herath was the first Sri Lankan and 16th overall to be disqualified for a king pair in test history when the Sri Lankan cricket team faced Pakistan in the UAE in 2013–14.

He was named in the World Test XI by the International Criminal Conference for his 2014 appearances.

Herath took seven wickets for 48 runs in the second innings of India's first Test against India in 2015, where Sri Lanka's total of 375 runs fell behind India's total number of 375. Herath was only able to take a single wicket in the first innings of the first innings and had a weak showing in the first innings. However, Herath's strong comeback in the second innings with fellow new spinner Tharindu Kaushal, India, was all out for 112 runs, with Herath hitting 7 for 48 and Kaushal with 3 for 47. This was his 22nd Test haul.

Sri Lanka defeated the West Indies in their first match against the West Indies in 2015, taking a total of 484 with the support of two centuries. Herath took his 23rd five-wicket haul in test cricket and the first against the West Indies in the bowling. He was out for 521 runs on 6/68 runs, and the West Indies were all out for 251. Windies wanted to keep track of the sequel, but they came in to bat for the second innings on the third day. Herath was all over the Windies in the first innings, with all the Windies out for 227 runs, giving Sri Lanka a huge victory by an innings and 6 runs. Herath's second innings was 4/79, his fifth ten-wicket haul in Test cricket and the man of the match award as well. The second match was a showcase of bowlers. Both teams do not score more than 250 in each innings, and Herath took just one wicket in the first innings. West Indies needed 245 runs to win the match, but Herath struck again, taking 4 wickets and sealing the game for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka defeated the United States 2-0, and Herath was the Player of the Series.

Herath took two wickets in the first test at Leeds on England's tour in 2016. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, lost the match by an innings and 88 runs. Herath dismissed Steven Finn in his 300th test wicket in the second match at Chester-Le-Street, who was caught by himself. He was the third Sri Lankan after Muttiah Murathiaran and Chaminda Vain's success in reaching 300 test wickets in history. While batting with Dinesh Chandimal before being disqualified to James Anderson, he did well with the bat's scoring 61.

Herath defeated Sri Lanka's legendary Wasim Akram's Test tally on Sunday to become the highest wicket-taking left-arm bowler in Test cricket on February 11th.

After the 2016 ICC World Twenty20, Herath revealed that he intended to retire from ODIs and T20Is. In the first round of the World T20, Sri Lankans were kicked out of the tournament, and Herath declared his resignation on April 17th. This was mainly due to the fact that Herath was chosen to the recent restricted over tournaments tournament after a game, and with the few years to come with his age, he wanted to shift more towards Test cricket. Herath played 71 ODIs, taking an average of 31.91 runs before retirement. In 2014, he played 17 T20Is, where he took 18 wickets against New Zealand in a best bowling average of 5 for 3.

In the Warne Murali Series, Herath displayed his talent on home soil against Australia in 2016. He took 4 four wickets in the first innings and a match-winning five-wicket haul in the second innings. Sri Lanka won the match by 106 runs, only the second victory over Australia in 27 test matches by Sri Lanka. Herath has taken 7 fifers in the fourth innings of Tests by 29 runs, the most fifers in second innings in least innings, after legendary Muttiah Muralitharan, who took 35 innings to reach the record. In addition to the best bowling figures in a Test innings in Pallekele, the match's bowling figures of 5 for 58 was also the best bowling figures in a Test innings.

Herath scored a hat-trick dismissing Adam Voges, Peter Nevill, and Mitchell Starc in the Australian first innings during the second Test at Galle. After Nuwan Zoysa's retirement, and the first Sri Lankan spinner to take a Test hat-trick, he became Sri Lanka's second Sri Lankan spinner. Since Johnny Briggs in 1892, he is the second left-arm orthodox bowler to attempt a Test hat trick. He became the first cricketer to win a hat-trick in Test matches, and was the first cricketer to do so.

Herath scored his 25th and 26th five-wicket haul in Test cricket in his third Test at SSC. This is his fourth straight Test against Australia in which he has taken four or more wickets in the opponent's first innings. His 25th fifer record is the highest by a bowler to take fifers since 2009. No other bowler has taken even 20 such hauls in this time period. For the first time in history, his ten wicket haul in the match gave the series a whitewash against Number 1 ranked Australia. In the last test match and 28 wickets in the series, he took 13 wickets. Both these wicket figures were record-breaking for a Sri Lankan against Australia.

Vice Captain Dinesh Chandimal was hospitalized while on tour with the T20I series of the same tour, after usual captain Angelo Mathews was wounded during the ODI series against Australia. Herath was appointed as the head of the Test team for the Zimbabwe tour, despite the absence of these key names. For the first time since Somachandra de Silva in 1983, he led the team in a test match on September 29, 2016. Sri Lanka won the match, where Herath led from the front and took 6 wickets in the tournament.

Herath's 27th five wicket haul against all Test-playing nations came after Muttiah Murahan and Dale Steyn. In the second test match, he took 13 wickets, the highest bowling figures against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. Carl Mumba was dismissed by taking 350th wicket, becoming the oldest player to do so. Muralitharan has taken more 12-wicket hauls than Herath, who has five to Murali's six. Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 and Herath adjudged man of the match for his outstanding efforts. The ICC and Cricinfo have recognized him in the World Test XI for his 2016 appearances.

After Angelo Mathews was not able to recover from the injury, Herath was named Test captain for the March 2017 Bangladesh tour in home soil. Herath won by 362 test wickets in the fourth innings of the first Test in Galle and became the country's most consistent left-arm spinner. Sri Lanka won by 257 runs after he took six wickets at the end. Herath was the first Sri Lanka captain to win in three straight victories. After Daniel Vettori's record of taking 350+ test wickets, he was only the second left arm spinner to score 350+ test wickets. Herath batted Mustafizur Rahman out of the match for the second time in the second round, taking out 1,000 first-class wickets. He is the second player from Sri Lanka and the 12th from the subcontinent to achieve the feat. Sri Lanka lost by four wickets in the match against Bangladesh despite his epics. The Test sequence was 1–1.

Herath was named as the stand-in captain for the first test against India in August 2017, after the captain Dinesh Chandimal was diagnosed with pneumonia. In the visitors' first innings, Herath took only one wicket and conceded 159 runs. Herath did not bat in the second innings where Sri Lanka had to chase 550 runs due to an injury while fielding. Sri Lanka had to play with nine players with Asela Gunaratne being barred from the remainder of the series due to a "pretty serious" fractured thumb that he sustained on the first day of the game. Sri Lanka lost the Test by 304 runs, making it Sri Lanka's highest loss in Tests as of February 2018.

Herath defeated Chaminda Valiant's 355 test wickets at Newlands in late 2016, becoming Sri Lanka's second best wicket-taker. Herath finished the year 2016 as the second highest wicket taker in Test cricket, only behind Indian Ravichandran Ashwin (72 scalps). In the year, he took 5 five-wicket hauls and two ten-wicket hauls. Despite his successes, Sri Lanka lost all three Tests.

In the first innings of the first Test against India in Galle, Herath took 1/159. In the second, he was wicketless. In the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo took 4/154 runs as India won the match by an innings and 53 runs. After being bowled 42 overs in the SSC Test, he had complained of a stiff back. Before the series with India, Herath had bowled 49 overs at Galle and had also dropped 71.1 overs in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe. He had been recovering from the final Test in Pallekele. India went on to take the series 3-0.

Herath's first Test against Pakistan on September 28, 2017 was one of the career highlights of the series. Sri Lanka defeated Sri Lanka 21-runs in his ninth ten-wicket haul, which included his 32nd and 33rd five-wicket hauls. Herath bowled Pakistan out of 100 test wickets against Pakistan, defeating Mohammad Amir, becoming the first bowler to achieve the feat against Pakistan in Tests. Amir's wicket was his 399th scalp in tests until he dismissed Mohammad Abbas as his 400th Test wicket. Herath joined a select group of 400 test wickets, becoming the first left-arm spinner in Sri Lanka and the second to reach the milestone. Herath was also selected man of the match for his outstanding match-winning bowling efforts.

Herath's first Test against India was wicketless on a seamer-friendly wicket in Kolkata. In the first innings, he made 67 to give Sri Lanka a 122-run advantage. The match, which had rain, ended in a draw. Herath bowled 39 overs in Nagpur's second Test, when Sri Lanka lost by an innings and 239 runs. At the end of the test, he had complained about back pains, and as a result, he was barred from the third Test in New Delhi. After the 3rd Test was drawn, India won the series 1–0.

Herath took 3/150 in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong, while 2/80 in the second. Herath won by 414 wickets in Mirpur's second Test and climbed to 12th position in the list of top wicket takers in Test cricket history with 415 scalps. Muttiah Murakhiyaran and Rangana Herath, Sri Lanka's best left arm bowler in Test cricket, has a record. Despite Herath's loss of 31 runs in 12 overs and went wicketless in the first innings, he took 4/49 in the second innings and helped Sri Lanka defeat Bangladesh 1-0 in the series. Herath also tied for taking the most wickets in the fourth innings of test matches (108), with Shane Warne taking second second only to Shane Warne who has scored 138 wickets.

He was one of 33 cricketers to be granted a national contract by Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of the 2018-19 season. However, he only played one Test in the Caribbean during the 3-Test match series against the West Indies, in which he skipped the day-night test due to a split webbing in his hand incurred during fielding drills.

In July 2018, he hinted that the England tour of Sri Lanka would be his last overseas appearance, according to BBC Sinhala.

He took his 34th test fifer in South Africa's second innings during his second test against South Africa. Sri Lanka won the match by 199 runs and ended the series 2-0, with that. This was his 12th fifer in a fourth innings of a match, more than any other bowler in history.

After the England series, Herath hinted that he wants to retire from international cricket in November. After the first Test against England at Galle on October 22, he announced that he would no longer be playing Test cricket. After making his Test debut in the twentieth century, he is the last Test cricketer to retire.

On November 6, 2018, he played his last Test match at Galle International Stadium, his home stadium. In the second innings, he scored 14 runs in the first innings and 5 runs, until he was run out as the last victim in Sri Lanka's innings. Even as Sri Lanka lost the match by 221 runs, Herath took the wicket of Joe Root in his 100th wicket in Galle International Stadium. With that, he became Sri Lanka's second bowler and first left arm bowler to take 100 Test wickets at a single location. Herath took two wickets in the second innings and ended his 19 years of service. The match was dedicated to Herath, according to skipper Chandimal.

Many tributes to Herath were laid down, including "Good Bye Legend Herath" and "Thank You Herath." Herath is the eighth highest wicket taker of all time until his retirement from Tests.

Herath was nominated for the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Decade award in November 2020.

In 2014, his best bowling figures against Bangladesh were 9/127, the 18th time a bowler in Test cricket, a bowler took 9 or more wickets in an innings. His best T20I figures of 5/3 are the third best ever in T20 Internationals.

Herath's 34 five-wicket hauls in Tests and one in a T20Is rank him seventh among all-time combined five-wicket haul takers and second in Sri Lanka's equivalent list, behind Muttiah Muralitharan.

Coaching career

The Bangladesh Cricket Board had Herath appointed him as the spin bowling consultant of the Bangladesh national cricket team in June 2021. (BCB). Daniel Vettori, who served as the spin bowling coach from July 2019, was fired by him.

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