Lalith Wasantha Silva Kaluperuma (born 25 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan international cricketer, who played
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...
from 1970 to 1983. He played in Sri Lanka's first
Test
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* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
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team in 1982.
Cricket career
Kaluperuma was educated at
Kalutara Vidyalaya
Kalutara Vidyalaya () is a Buddhist boys' school in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. The college was founded in 1941 by Sir Cyril de Zoysa. It is a national school providing primary and secondary education.
History
In order to provide education to the B ...
and
Nalanda College, Colombo
Nalanda College () is a Buddhist school in Sri Lanka that provides primary and secondary education for boys.Bloomfield in Sri Lankan domestic cricket. An off-spin bowler, useful lower-order batsman and fine fieldsman in the gully, he was a regular member of the Sri Lankan team throughout the 1970s. When Sri Lanka toured Pakistan in 1973-74 he took 8 for 50 in the first innings of the match against the North West Frontier Province Governor's XI. In the Gopalan Trophy match in 1975-76 he took 2 for 36 and 8 for 43 to give Sri Lanka victory by 22 runs.
Kaluperuma played in the first World Cup in 1975, and also toured India in 1975-76 and England in 1981 with the Sri Lankan team. When Pakistan played two unofficial Tests in Sri Lanka in 1975-76 he played a significant role in Sri Lanka's victory in the first match, scoring 96 and 50 not out, and taking three wickets in the second innings. He took eight wickets in the match when the
Australians
Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizenship, citizens, nationality, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Aust ...
played Sri Lanka in a four-day match in 1981. A few days earlier, in a 45-over match, he had taken 4 for 35 when Sri Lanka beat Australia for the first time.
Kaluperuma played in Sri Lanka's inaugural Test against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at
Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...
in 1981–82. However, he bowled 21 wicketless overs, followed by six wicketless overs in the next Test. It appeared that the captain,
Duleep Mendis
Deshamanya Louis Rohan Duleep Mendis (born 25 August 1952), known as Duleep Mendis, is a Sri Lankan former cricketer and former captain of the team. Mendis captained Sri Lanka to their first Test series victory in 1985. He was primarily a speci ...
, had little faith in him, and he never returned to international cricket. Shortly afterwards, he joined an unofficial Sri Lankan
tour of South Africa
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in 1982–83, which led to a ban from international cricket and cricket in Sri Lanka. In the first of the two unofficial Tests he took 5 for 123 in South Africa's only innings, which were the Sri Lankan team's best figures of the tour.
Later career
In 2003, Kaluperuma joined the board of national selectors in Sri Lanka, and two years later he was made chairman of the board.