Rangana was born in Kurunegala. His village was at Waduwawa in Narammala and started his schooling at St Bernadette’s . The boy’s talent was spotted by Rohan Dheerasuriya a junior level coach at Maliyadeva who set the ball rolling and Rangana has been rolling his left arm ever since and bagging a bountiful of wickets for Sri Lanka. He played in 93 Tests and took 433 wickets. Herath was the go to man for Sri Lanka either in shutting down one end or breaking a partnership. Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera were ideal foil for Sri Lankan victories not so long ago and in the Galle stadium in particular. His side kick Dilruwan Perera is still going on gamely.
Rangana captained the first eleven at Maliyadeva College Kurunegala the leading school in Kurunegala in 1997. He played four years of Ist eleven cricket there. Thereafter he played for the two leading clubs in Kurunegala, Kurunegala Youth and Kurunegala Sports Club, where he learnt his trade from veterans like Rangith Madurasinghe(a selector at present) and Ajith Ekanayake who had over 1000 first class wickets to his credit but according to Rangana due recognition was not given to him.
He had his Test Debut in 1999 whilst Muralidharan still played, Rangana played for Moors Sports Club from 1999-2010.He also had a stint at Colts Cricket Club. Rangana also played for Hampshire and Surrey in short stints.
Rangana bagged 34, five wicket hauls and claimed 10 wickets more than nine times. Ultimately being a loyal servant for Sri Lanka Cricket and after his 93rd Test Match he called it a day, his knees had got such battering and both his cartilages were removed not to mention the pain killers he had to take in the latter stages. He overcame all the pain barriers which stood in his way simply due to his passion, dedication and determination he had in playing for Mother Lanka.That is not the end of the story, Rangana was waiting in the wings for a long time till the great Murali retired, Rangana had patience in abundance which was a trade mark quality of his.
Rangana paid a tribute to Sampath Bank where he has been employed from 2000 uptodate.He functions as The Manager Business Promotions. He was given full days leave when he was on Sri Lanka duty and even when he was out of the reckoning he was a loyal servant to the bank working as a normal employee full time at their card center.
Rangana had a word of advice for young cricketers venturing into the city from outstations, he noted that they had two major issues, one was to find lodgings and the other was to find a decent job. This apart they had to orientate suitably to the surroundings of the city, this did not mean that they had to go with”Wine Women and Song.”
Rangana was of the view that professional cricketers should have money and stressed the fact that life style management was of utmost importance, otherwise however much you had talent without this important aspect of management your life would go haywire and could end up in the bin. Rangana the veteran was full of advice for the young set-He stated again that they should set their own goals and not get discouraged by set backs and eventually solutions would come their way.
Commenting on the present Test Match in Durban, he mentioned the fact that he himself had played in Durban and the pitch took turn and bounce and Lasith Embuldeniya with his height could be quit a handful.(Incidenatlly Sri Lanka had put South Africa on the rails by skittling them out for 235 and a smart reply of 49 for 1 by us).
MOST CORRUPT
Rangana is bemused that Sri Lanka has been named the most corrupt country by the ICC, a strong and damaging statement indeed if that was the case why not publish their names, Rangana is of the view that if we kept silent on these matters we automatically agreed.
NOT A FIXER
Rangana also went on and stated that when he was in the team some years back and Thilanga Sumathipala was at the helm, they all signed a letter which indicated that if they found a fixer amongst them let them publish the names.Rangana categorically stated that he was not a fixer.
He was great ful to his good mate Charinda Fernando a cricketing colleague of Rangana for giving lodgings to him for two years at their Kalubowila residence.
Rangana mentioned to me that he is keen on giving something back to his Alma Mater, Maliyadeva and he has already set the tone by starting the Devan Cricket Foundation one and a half years back .
Rangana’s wife Senani is from Kandy and he has two sons the eldest is attending S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.was great ful to his good mate Charinda Fernando a cricketing colleague of Rangana for giving lodgings to him for two years at their Kalubowila residence.
Rangana mentioned to me that he is keen on giving something back to his Alma Mater, Maliyadeva and he has already set the tone by starting the Devan Cricket Foundation one and a half years back .
Rangana’s wife Senani is from Kandy and he has two sons the eldest is attending S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.
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