Lahiru Milantha (born 28 May 1994) is a Sri Lankan-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

wicket-keeper batsmanwho plays for Silicon Valley Strikers in the Pacific Conferenceof

Minor League Cricket Minor League Cricket (MiLC) is a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket league in the United States that serves as the Minor league, developmental league for Major League Cricket (MLC). The league comprises 26 teams, divided between the Atlanti ...

Early life

He was born on 28 May 1994 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. He schooled in St. Peter's College, Colombo. He started his career as an

All-rounder An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a handful of batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are cons ...

who bowled

Leg-Spin Leg spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called a leg spinner. Leg spinners bowl with their right-arm and a wrist spin action. The leg spinner's normal delivery is called a leg break, which spins from ...

, but when he made it to college's First XI he played as a wicket-keeper batsman.

Sri Lankan career

Milantha made his List A debut for Ragama CC on 12 December 2013, against Colts CC during the Premier Limited Overs Tournament, 2013. Soon, he made his first-class debut on 14 February 2014, against Chilaw Marians CC, in Premier League Tournament 2013/14. On 1 April 2015, he made his T20 Debut, against Colombo CC, during the SLC Twenty-20 Tournament 2014/15. In March 2018 he was the leading run-scorer in the

2017–18 Premier Limited Overs Tournament The 2017–18 Premier Limited Overs Tournament was a List A cricket competition that took place in Sri Lanka. It was the seventeenth edition of the Premier Limited Overs Tournament, and the first since the 2015–16 edition, after the 2016–17 ...

, with 448 runs from six matches. In March 2018 he was named in Galle's squad for the

2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament The 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament was a first-class cricket tournament, that was played in Sri Lanka during March and April 2018. It took place following the conclusion of the 2017–18 Premier League Tournament and featured four te ...

. The following month, he was also named in Galle's squad for the

2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament The 2018 Super Provincial One Day Tournament was a List A cricket tournament that was played in Sri Lanka between 2 May and 10 June 2018, following the conclusion of the 2017–18 Super Four Provincial Tournament. Four teams took part in the com ...

. In August 2018 he was named in Galle's squad the 2018 SLC T20 League. In February 2019,

Sri Lanka Cricket Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka. It was first registered with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Sports as the Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka on 30 June 1975 as a national ...

named him as the Best Batsman in the

. In February 2020, he scored a double century in the 2019–20 Premier League Tournament, making 252 runs for

Badureliya Sports Club Badureliya Sports Club is a first-class cricket team in Sri Lanka. It plays its home matches at Surrey Village Cricket Ground, Maggona. In late 2008, the club threatened to boycott the Sri Lankan domestic tournaments due to their objections to be ...

American career

Milintha was one of those several Sri Lankans who migrated USA during early 2020s. He made his MiLC debut with Morisville Raptors on 28 August 2021, against Orlando Galaxy. In 2023 Milantha moved to Silicon Valley Strikers and he was their top scorer with 267 runs, in MiLC Pacific Division 2023. In March 2023 Milantha was drafted in Round 3 for the

Texas Super Kings The Texas Super Kings are an American professional Twenty20 cricket team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex that competes in Major League Cricket (MLC). The team's home ground is Grand Prairie Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 7,2 ...

as the wicket-keeper for the inaugural season of

Major League Cricket Major League Cricket (MLC) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in the United States organized by American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) and sanctioned by USA Cricket. Founded in 2023, the league operates as a single entity consisting of ...

. In the 2024 MLC he was signed in the 10th round of domestic draft by

Washington Freedom Washington Freedom may refer to: * Washington Freedom (cricket) * Washington Freedom (soccer) {{dab ...

References

External links

* 1994 births Living people Sri Lankan cricketers Badureliya Sports Club cricketers Galle Guardians cricketers Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club cricketers Ragama Cricket Club cricketers Cricketers from Kalutara Wicket-keepers 21st-century Sri Lankan sportsmen {{SriLanka-cricket-bio-1990s-stub