37 Facts About Bandula Warnapura

Bandula Warnapura was a Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Bandula Warnapura played four Test matches and twelve One Day Internationals during his international cricketing career from 1975 to 1982.

Bandula Warnapura was a right-handed opening batsman and a right-handed medium pace bowler.

Bandula Warnapura had the rare distinction of opening the bowling and opening the batting in the second innings for Sri Lanka in their first ever Test match.

Bandula Warnapura captained Sri Lanka in all the Tests he played, although he could not lead his team to victory in any of them.

Bandula Warnapura was born on 1 March 1953 in Rambukkana.

Malinda Bandula Warnapura, who played for the Sri Lanka national cricket team, is his nephew.

Bandula Warnapura was an old boy of Nalanda College Colombo.

Bandula Warnapura captained Nalanda College Colombo first XI cricket team in 1971.

Bandula Warnapura has worked as an ICC match referee and an umpire, and was a certified cricketing coach.

Bandula Warnapura served as the coach for the Sri Lanka national cricket team before he was appointed Director of Coaching in 1994.

Bandula Warnapura became Director of Operations of Sri Lanka Cricket in 2001.

Bandula Warnapura functioned in that post for eight years before he resigned in 2008.

Bandula Warnapura was the Development Manager of the Asian Cricket Council.

Bandula Warnapura has refereed two Tests and three ODIs in 2001.

Bandula Warnapura made his first-class debut against the Indian Universities in 1970.

Bandula Warnapura was the first Sri Lankan Test cricket cap and got the opportunity to lead the Sri Lanka national cricket team in their very first Test match, which was played against England in 1982.

Bandula Warnapura elected to bat first, and opened the batting for Sri Lanka with Sidath Wettimuny.

Bandula Warnapura faced the first delivery of the match, and scored the first Test run for his country.

Bandula Warnapura was unsuccessful in his second match, played against Pakistan in March 1982, scoring just 13 runs in the Sri Lankan first innings, and getting out without scoring in the second.

Bandula Warnapura was unsuccessful again, scoring just 4 in the first innings and 6 in the second, and the match ended in a draw.

Bandula Warnapura had scored a total of 96 runs, with an average of 12.00.

Bandula Warnapura was dismissed for 8 runs in that match, which Sri Lanka lost.

Bandula Warnapura had a weird ODI debut scoring 8 runs off 54 balls and he became the first Sri Lankan batsman ever to score a boundary in an ODI as well as the first boundary scored by a batsman for Sri Lanka in a World Cup match.

Bandula Warnapura was given the captaincy of the team to temporarily replace Anura Tennekoon in his fifth match, which was played against India on 16 June 1979, as part of the 1979 Cricket World Cup.

Bandula Warnapura led the team to victory, scoring 18 runs in the match and taking a wicket.

In 1982, Bandula Warnapura was appointed captain of the Sri Lankan team.

Bandula Warnapura made 77 runs in that match, although it was lost by Sri Lanka.

Bandula Warnapura played 12 ODI matches, accumulating a total of 180 runs at an average of 15.00.

Bandula Warnapura captured 8 wickets at an average of 39.50, as well taking 5 catches during his career.

Several Sri Lankan players took part in this tour, and the team which was captained by Bandula Warnapura and named Arosa Sri Lanka, left the country in secret in September 1982.

Bandula Warnapura later claimed that not only financial issues but pressure from some members of the BCCSL forced them to undertake the tour, and expressed disappointment at the fact that no formal inquiry was held.

Bandula Warnapura served as the coach of the Sri Lankan team, and has served in its administration.

Bandula Warnapura coached Mahela Jayawardene at the Nalanda College and was a Under-19 national coach of Russel Arnold.

Bandula Warnapura became an administrator at the Bloomfield Club in 1991 after the end of the ban which he served for being part of Sri Lanka's Arosa tour of South Africa in 1982.

In October 2021, Bandula Warnapura was admitted to hospital due to a diabetes-related issue, with doctors forced to amputate his left leg.

Bandula Warnapura died on 18 October 2021 while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo.