Teenager in the big game: Kaveesha Dilhari the youngest cricketer in the Women’s National Squad.

Kaveesha Dilhari was the youngest ever player to be selected into the National Ladies Cricket Team. At 17 she first represented Sri Lanka in a home tournament against Pakistan and has been a permanent fixture in the national team ever since. This teenage all- rounder was described by Sri Lanka’s high performance manager Simon Willis as a “very competitive beast” and had been identified as an extremely talented cricketer to be groomed for the international stage.

Kaveesha’s natural skill was identified when she joined the FoG Sports Academy at age 13, having gained training and exposure through FoG, she has been playing domestic cricket since the age of 15 and the 18 year old is now a familiar face in the National Squad.

A student of Devapathiraja Vidyalaya, from a rural community that didn’t always look at sports as a viable career path for women, this young lady has broken the mold and has gotten the attention of the Nation.

ESPN Cricinfo heralded her launch into the international stage with the headline ‘Teenager Dilhari gets maiden T20I call-up after stunning India in ODI series ender’, calling her a ‘future star’. As the youngest player ever to be drafted into the National Squad, Kaveesha is a name to watch out for in the coming years in the International Cricketing arena.

We are so proud to have been able to nurture Kaveesha, as she discovered her talent at our FoG Sports Academy in Seenigama. The Sports Academy of the Foundation is dedicated to providing free of charge sports facilities, equipment and coaching to rural Sri Lankans. We focus on scouting talent and nurturing rural sportsmen and women whose talent would otherwise lay dormant, hidden in the backwaters of a village. With this intent we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Olympic Committee to develop an Olympian by 2020, we conduct monthly coaching camps in the North and South of Sri Lanka with renowned Cricket Coach Hemantha Devapriya, in collaboration with Tokyo Cement. Our flagship Centre in Seenigama, boasts two cricket grounds, a swimming pool, gym, volleyball court and sports centre. All these facilities and resourced are provided free to local sportsmen and women, so that they can utilize sports as a vehicle of empowerment and social migration.

Kaveesha with the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Mr James Dauris

Kaveesha Dilhari is one of our most beloved success stories, her bright star is a source of great inspiration to our rural athletes as they fight daily battles to overcome innumerable hardships to achieve their moment of glory.