Analysis

10 cricketers who became batters after starting as bowlers in their career

2. Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya was initially a proper bowler. In the early 1990s and the late 1980s, Jayasuriya was in the Sri Lankan team purely for his left-arm orthodox spin bowling. As a bowler, Jayasuriya was good as well. But in the mid-1990s, the former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga asked him to open the innings for Sri Lanka. From there, Jayasuriya’s career took a different turn, and he became one of the most explosive batters of all time. He was still a handy bowler and never left bowling in his career. But he came to be known more as a batting All-rounder after he started to open the batting for the Sri Lankan team.