Upul Tharanga is a naturally gifted left-handed opening batsman. When in full flow, Tharanga is capable of playing some delightful strokes. He is also a handy wicket-keeper. He was spotted as a youngster and was a regular member of Sri Lanka's U-15, U-17 and U-19 sides. Some stellar performances in the 2004 U-19 World Cup helped him win a spot in the 'A' side.
On the back of some good performances against West Indies, he made it into the big league. Tharanga had a bittersweet 2005 -- after having lost his family home to the Tsunami, he earned a call-up to the national team. Kumar Sangakkara was gracious enough to replace his cricketing gear. He had a quiet start to his career, failing to make any significant contributions against top teams. However, the selectors had faith in his ability and their decision to stick with him finally paid off as Tharanga amassed over 300 runs against England in the 5 ODIs in 2006. He scored 2 centuries during that series and was involved in a record-breaking opening partnership with Jayasuriya in the 5th ODI.
