Kandy Tuskers
2020 season
CoachHashan Tillakaratne
CaptainKusal Perera
2020 LPLLeague stage (5th)
Most runsKusal Mendis (263)[1]
Most wicketsAsela Gunaratne (9)[2]
2021 →

The Kandy Tuskers (abbreviated as KT) is a franchise cricket team which competed in inaugural season of Lanka Premier League in 2020. The team is based in Kandy, Central Province, Sri Lanka, and owned by Bollywood actor Sohail Khan.[3] In the 2020 season, the team was under the captaincy of Kusal Perera and coached by Hashan Tillakaratne.[4]

The team was eliminated in the inaugural season of the LPL after winning two out of eight matches. They were disqualified due to having a lower run rate than the qualifier, Galle Gladiators, which had the same winning streak.

Season summary

In the inaugural match of the Lanka Premier League, the Colombo Kings beat the Tuskers in a super over. In their 20 overs, the Tuskers scored 219/3. This was largely due to their captain Kusal Mendis, who scored 87 runs off 52 balls. While in the super over, the Tuskers scored 12/0 in reply to 16/1 by the Kings.[5] On 28 November 2020, the Tuskers lost their second successive match by four runs, this time to the Dambulla Viiking, as the DLS method was used due to rain.[6]

In their third match, they defeated Galle Gladiators by 25 runs to log their first win of the season. They won despite 82 runs off 53 balls from the Gladiators opener Danushka Gunathilaka, as the Gladiators scored 171/7 in response to Kandy's 196/5.[7] In their fourth game, the Tuskers were all out for 131 runs in response to the Jaffna Stallions' 185/8, losing the game by 54 runs.[8]

In the Tuskers' fifth game of the season, against the Viiking, they got off to a good start. This was largely due to their captain Mendis, who scored 55 runs. However, the Tuskers still lost this game by five wickets.[9] Yet again in their sixth game of the season, against the Colombo Kings, the Tuskers' batting failed them. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was the highest scorer for the Tuskers, scoring 34 runs off 21 balls. In response, the Kings reached their target inside 15 overs, winning by seven wickets and giving the Tuskers their third consecutive loss. This also sent the Kings into the semi-finals.[10]

In their seventh game of the season, the Tuskers defeated the Jaffna Stallions by six runs.[11] Their eighth match, against the Galle Gladiators, was a virtual quarter-final, with the winner advancing to the semi-final. The Tuskers' batting failed again, as the only batsman to pass 50 runs was their captain Mendis, who scored 68 runs of the Tuskers' total of 128 runs. The Tuskers bowlers could not replicate the Gladiators bowlers either, as they took only one wicket in the Gladiators' successful chase of 130/1. This meant that the Kandy Tuskers finished last on the inaugural Lanka Premier League table.[12][13][14]

Squad

  • Players with international caps are listed in bold
  • Ages given as of 26 November 2020, the date the first match was played in the tournament
No. Name Nationality Date of birth (age) Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batsmen
49 Priyamal Perera  Sri Lanka 3 May 1995 (aged 25) Left-handed —
N/A Nishan Madushka  Sri Lanka 10 September 1999 (aged 21) Right-handed —
All-rounders
41 Seekkuge Prasanna  Sri Lanka 27 June 1985 (aged 35) Right-handed Right-arm legbreak
14 Asela Gunaratne  Sri Lanka 8 January 1986 (aged 34) Right-handed Right-arm medium
84 Kamindu Mendis  Sri Lanka 30 September 1998 (aged 22) Left-handed Right-arm offbreak, slow left-arm orthodox
47 Dilruwan Perera  Sri Lanka 12 July 1982 (aged 38) Right-handed Right arm off spin
333 Chris Gayle  West Indies 21 September 1979 (aged 41) Left-handed Right-arm offbreak Overseas marquee player
N/A Irfan Pathan  India 27 October 1984 (aged 36) Left-handed Left-arm medium fast Overseas
33 Sohail Tanvir  Pakistan 12 December 1984 (aged 35) Left-handed Left-arm medium-fast Overseas
73 Lahiru Samarakoon  Sri Lanka 3 March 1997 (aged 23) Left-handed Right-arm fast-medium
11 Ishan Jayaratne  Sri Lanka 26 June 1989 (aged 31) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium
Wicket-keepers
153 Kusal Perera  Sri Lanka 17 August 1990 (aged 30) Left-handed Left-arm medium Captain, Icon player
2 Kusal Mendis  Sri Lanka 2 February 1995 (aged 25) Right-handed Right-arm leg spin
100 Rahmanullah Gurbaz  Afghanistan 28 November 2001 (aged 18) Right-handed — Overseas
22 Brendan Taylor  Zimbabwe 6 February 1986 (aged 34) Right-handed Right-arm offbreak Overseas
Bowlers
63 Nuwan Pradeep  Sri Lanka 19 October 1986 (aged 34) Right-handed Right-arm fast
96 Lasith Embuldeniya  Sri Lanka 26 October 1996 (aged 24) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
68 Vishwa Fernando  Sri Lanka 18 September 1991 (aged 29) Right-handed Left-arm fast-medium
17 Liam Plunkett  England 6 April 1985 (aged 35) Right-handed Right-arm fast Overseas
47 Wahab Riaz  Pakistan 28 June 1985 (aged 35) Right-handed Left-arm fast Overseas
88 Naveen-ul-Haq  Afghanistan 23 September 1999 (aged 21) Right-handed Right-arm medium-fast Overseas
N/A Munaf Patel  India 12 July 1983 (aged 37) Right-handed Right-arm medium fast Overseas
8 Dale Steyn  South Africa 27 June 1983 (aged 37) Right-handed Right-arm fast Overseas
N/A Chamikara Edirisinghe  Sri Lanka 4 April 1991 (aged 29) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
N/A Kavishka Anjula  Sri Lanka 23 September 1997 (aged 23) Left-handed Right-arm medium-fast
36 Kevin Koththigoda  Sri Lanka 4 October 1998 (aged 22) Left-handed Right-arm leg-break

Administration and support staff

The team is owned by the Bollywood actor Sohail Khan, the brother of Salman Khan.[21] It is also co-owned by Abbas Muni.[22] Hashan Tillakaratne was appointed as the head coach, while the team manager was Farveez Maharoof.[23][24][25] Nuvan Kulasekara and Lanka De Silva were bowling and fielding coaches for the season, respectively.[26][27]

Season standings

League table

Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts NRR
1 Colombo Kings 8 6 2 0 12 0.448
2 Dambulla Viiking 8 5 2 1 11 −0.087
3 Jaffna Stallions (C) 8 4 3 1 9 0.788
4 Galle Gladiators (R) 8 2 6 0 4 −0.203
5 Kandy Tuskers 8 2 6 0 4 −0.890
Source: ESPNCricinfo
  • The top four teams qualified for the playoffs
  •   Advanced to semifinals

Matches

  denotes the winning team   denotes the losing team
Date Opponent Toss Result MotM Notes
26 November Colombo Kings Colombo Kings elected to field. Colombo Kings won by 5 runs. Dinesh Chandimal Won in super over.[28]
28 November Dambulla Viiking Kandy Tuskers elected to field. Dambulla Viiking won by 4 runs. Dasun Shanaka Won by DLS method.[29]
30 November Galle Gladiators Galle Gladiators elected to field. Kandy Tuskers won by 25 runs. Brendan Taylor [30]
1 December Jaffna Stallions Jaffna Stallions elected to bat. Jaffna Stallions won by 54 runs. Thisara Perera [31]
3 December Dambulla Viiking Kandy Tuskers elected to bat. Dambulla Viiking won by 5 wickets. Angelo Perera [32]
5 December Colombo Kings Kandy Tuskers elected to bat. Colombo Kings won by 7 wickets. Dushmantha Chameera [33]
9 December Jaffna Stallions Jaffna Stallions elected to bat. Kandy Tuskers won by 6 wickets. Asela Gunaratne [34]
10 December Galle Gladiators Kandy Tuskers elected to field. Galle Gladiators won by 9 wickets. Danushka Gunathilaka [35]

Statistics

Most runs

The top scorer of Kandy Tuskers was Kusal Mendis, who scored 263 runs in eight matches, followed by the captain Kusal Perera, who scored 209 runs. The third and fourth position were attained by Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Asela Gunaratne.[1]

* indicates a player who remained not out.[1]
Batsman Matches Runs Highest score
Kusal Mendis 8 263 68
Kusal Perera 8 209 87
Rahmanullah Gurbaz 8 169 53
Asela Gunaratne 8 168 52*
Brendan Taylor 6 144 51*

Most wickets

The most wickets were taken by Gunaratne, who took nine wickets in eight matches. He was followed by Afghan cricketer Naveen-ul-Haq, who took eight wickets. Vishwa Fernando and Seekkuge Prasanna both took three wickets, respectively.[2]

Notation 2/20 denotes 2 wickets obtained by 20 runs.[2]
Bowler Matches Wickets Best bowling
Asela Gunaratne 8 9 2/20
Naveen-ul-Haq 5 8 3/44
Nuwan Pradeep 8 8 3/36
Vishwa Fernando 3 3 2/29
Seekkuge Prasanna 7 3 1/6

Awards and achievements

Date Award Player Opponent Result Contribution Ref.
30 November Man of the Match Brendan Taylor Galle Gladiators Won by 25 runs. 51* (35) [36]
9 December Asela Gunaratne Jaffna Stallions Won by 6 wickets. 52* (37) [34]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Records / 2020 - Kandy Tuskers / Twenty20 Matches / Most Runs". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Kandy Tuskers / Most Wickets / 2020 season". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  3. ↑ "Sohail Khan Becomes Proud Owner Of Kandy Tuskers Franchise; Clarifies About His Family's 'Zero Involvement' In Lanka Premier League 2020". ABP Live.
  4. ↑ "Lanka Premier League 2020: Sri Lanka Cricket to confirm fixtures after decision on India series". The Sports Rush. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "1st Match (N), Hambantota, Nov 26 2020, Lanka Premier League". ESPN Cricinfo.
  6. ↑ "Dasun Shanaka, Samit Patel hand Kandy Tuskers their second loss". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  7. ↑ "All-round Kandy Tuskers withstand sparkling Danushka Gunathilaka 82 to notch first win". ESPNcricinfo.
  8. ↑ "8th Match (N), Hambantota, Dec 1 2020, Lanka Premier League". ESPN Cricinfo.
  9. ↑ "Angelo Perera, spinners help Dambulla Viiking see off Kandy Tuskers". ESPN Cricinfo.
  10. ↑ "Qais Ahmad leads rout of Kandy Tuskers as Colombo Kings enter semi-finals". ESPN Cricinfo.
  11. ↑ "Gunaratne, Pradeep shine for Kandy Tuskers as Steyn sizzles on LPL 2020 debut". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "LPL Table". ESPN Cricinfo.
  13. ↑ "Qais Ahmad leads rout of Kandy Tuskers as Colombo Kings enter semi-finals". ESPN cricinfo. 5 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  14. ↑ "Danushka Gunathilaka's 94* seals Galle Gladiators' semi-final spot". ESPN cricinfo. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  15. ↑ "Kandy Tuskers Squad". Cricinfo.
  16. ↑ "ShieldSquare Captcha". validate.perfdrive.com.
  17. ↑ "LPL 2020: Kandy Tuskers Team Guide & Squad List | Lanka Premier League". Wisden. 25 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Yahoo Cricket". cricket.yahoo.net.
  19. ↑ "Kandy Tuskers LPL Squad 2020 (Players List & Base Salaries)". Sportekz. 19 October 2020.
  20. ↑ "LPL 2020: Lanka Premier League kicks off today". www.geosuper.tv.
  21. ↑ Singh, Prabhleen (21 October 2020). "Sohail Khan becomes owner of Kandy Tuskers team in Lanka Premier League". CricAngel. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  22. ↑ "Kandy Tuskers". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "We have a well-balanced side – Kandy Tuskers Head Coach Hashan". 24 November 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  24. ↑ "Farveez, Nuwan, Lanka to work with Kandy Tuskers". CeylonToday. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  25. ↑ Vasudevan, Estelle (24 November 2020). "Tuskers underdogs at inaugural LPL – Kandy Tuskers – Preview". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "Kulasekara is bowling coach of Kandy Tuskers". Hiru News. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  27. ↑ "Kulasekara, Lanka De Silva and Farveez Maharoof roped in as coaching staff of Kandy Tuskers!". 3 November 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  28. ↑ "Tuskers vs Kings, 1st Match Match Details, Schedule, Summary | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  29. ↑ "Viiking beat Tuskers Viiking won by 111 runs (D/L method) - Viiking vs Tuskers, 3rd Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  30. ↑ "Tuskers beat Gladiators Tuskers won by 25 runs - Tuskers vs Gladiators, 6th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  31. ↑ "Stallions beat Tuskers Stallions won by 54 runs - Stallions vs Tuskers, 8th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  32. ↑ "Viiking beat Tuskers Viiking won by 5 wickets - Tuskers vs Viiking, 10th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  33. ↑ "Kings beat Tuskers Kings won by 7 wickets - Tuskers vs Kings, 13th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  34. 1 2 "Tuskers beat Stallions Tuskers won by 6 wickets - Stallions vs Tuskers, 16th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  35. ↑ "Gladiators beat Tuskers Gladiators won by 9 wickets - Tuskers vs Gladiators, 19th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
  36. ↑ "Tuskers beat Gladiators Tuskers won by 25 runs - Tuskers vs Gladiators, 6th Match Match Summary, Report | ESPNcricinfo.com". ESPNcricinfo.
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