In a surprise signing, the Melbourne Renegades have roped in uncapped Sri Lanka spinner Ruwantha Kellapotha as an overseas replacement player for BBL 2022-23.
Kellapotha played 20 first-class matches in Sri Lanka between 2010 and 2013, bagging 55 wickets at 29.41 with his leg-spin while also aggregating 617 runs at 38.56. He also managed 17 wickets from 12 List A games in the period.
The 31-year-old moved to Melbourne thereafter and played eight seasons in the lower-tier Dandenong District Cricket Association in the city’s south-eastern suburbs before excelling in premier cricket for Casey-South Melbourne last season, which helped him gain prominence.
He is one of the four overseas players in the Renegades squad that also features Liam Livingstone (England), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan) and Akeal Hosein (West Indies).
Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Kane Richardson are among the other major internationals in the Nic Maddinson-led side.
“My journey till here has been a bit different. I’d achieved what I wanted to achieve in local cricket, so I wanted to see what I could do in Premier Cricket. Now I want to see what I can do at the highest level. I really appreciate this opportunity the Renegades have given me to be involved this year. It is a huge privilege and something I do not take lightly.
“This is going to be a great experience for me, playing with and against some of the best players in the world. I want to be a team player and whatever my team needs, I’ll give it 100 percent,”
Kellapotha said.
The Renegades have won the BBL once – in 2018/19 under Finch – and finished at the bottom of the table in each of the following three seasons.
Melbourne Renegades Big Bash League squad
Nic Maddinson (c), Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka), Liam Livingstone (England), Shaun Marsh, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon Wells
