Colombo, Aug 7 (IANS) Pathum Nissanka and Chamari Athapaththu stole the spotlight at the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Awards by bagging the prestigious men’s and women’s Cricketer of the Year awards, respectively, for their exceptional performances in 2025.
The awards ceremony celebrated achievements across Test, ODI, and T20I formats; recognised contributions in domestic cricket; and bestowed Lifetime Achievement Awards upon four stalwarts of the game in the island nation.
Nissanka earned the top men’s honour after compiling a prolific 1,414 runs across formats at an average of 40.40 in 2025. His stellar year included 388 runs in five Test innings, 401 runs in 12 ODIs, and 625 runs in 18 T20Is at a strike rate of 149.16.
He also took home the Best Batter award for both Tests and T20Is, while Charith Asalanka was named the Best ODI Batter for his 494 runs. Dushmantha Chameera was named Best T20I Bowler for his 22 wickets in 14 games, while Asitha Fernando took the Best ODI Bowler award with 23 wickets.
Prabath Jayasuriya (Best Test Bowler), Dhananjaya de Silva (Best Test Allrounder), Dasun Shanaka (Best T20I Allrounder), and Wanindu Hasaranga (Best ODI Allrounder) also picked up major awards in the men’s international category.
In the women’s category, Chamari reinforced her legendary status by sweeping multiple honours. The Sri Lankan skipper was named Best T20I Batter (190 runs) and Best ODI Bowler (13 wickets), alongside claiming the all-rounder awards in both white-ball formats.
Harshitha Samarawickrama bagged the Best ODI Batter award after leading the run charts with 441 runs, while Kavisha Dilhari was named Best T20I Bowler for her eight wickets. The awards also recognized emerging talents, as Kamil Mishara took the Men’s Emerging Player of the Year while Imesha Dulani won the Women’s Emerging Player of the Year.
Veteran umpire Ravindra Kottahachchi was named Umpire of the Year. The highlight of the awards night was SLC honoring pre-Test captains Michael Tissera and Anura Tennekoon with Lifetime Achievement Awards, alongside veteran sports journalist Reemus Fernando and prominent broadcasting personality Kelum Srimal for their lifelong contributions to the sport.
–IANS
nr/bc
