15th November 2023
Media Release
Sri Lanka Cricket takes this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Aravinda de Silva, one of our iconic sons, who was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
One of Sri Lanka’s most decorated cricketers, de Silva contributed immensely to transforming the Sri Lankan cricket legacy to become world-class.
A fearless batsman with sound technique, de Silva’s heroics in the field during his era encouraged youngsters, not only in Sri Lanka but also the world over, to love the sport and also embrace it.
“Aravinda goes down as one of the legendary cricketers’ Sri Lanka has produced; his influence as a player, a leader, and a strategist helped Sri Lanka conquer the cricketing world, and the most defining moment of it was winning the 1996 World Cup,” said Shammi Silva, President, Sri Lanka Cricket.
“It is because of the contribution made by players like Aravinda that Sri Lanka has carved a place in the global cricketing field,’ added de Silva.
His brilliance on the field, especially the match-winning knocks he played during the semi-finals and the final of the ICC Men’s 50 over World Cup in 1996, will be remembered for generations.
He has scored a total of 15,645 runs for Sri Lanka across 93 Tests and 308 ODIs and captained the team in both formats. He also captured 135 international wickets for his country.