DAMBULLA (Sri Lanka), July 29: Upul Tharanga’s selection as Sri Lanka’s new one-day opener has brightened a year scarred by the devastating Asian tsunami that ripped through his coastal home. Tharanga has been fast-tracked into the national squad and in what will be Sri Lanka’s first ODI since the Asian tsunami he is now set to make his debut against India on Saturday in the triangular series opening match.

A 20-year-old left-hander, Tharanga was left homeless after tsunami waves washed away his family’s home in Ambalangoda, a small fishing village on Sri Lanka’s west coast. Fortunately, Tharanga had not been at home on Dec 26 but had been living in his room beside the Nondescripts Cricket Club gymnasium, his Colombo cricket club.

His family all survived the tsunami waves, which killed over 30,000 in the island, but his father was a fishing distributor and his livelihood was severely affected. “We lost our house and the family are now all living with our uncle, but thankfully we all survived,” Tharanga told reporters soon after his call-up into the national squad for the first time.

More insignificantly, Tharanga also lost a large pile of cricket trophies stacked up during a successful youth career with his school and Sri Lanka’s Under 15, 17 and 19 teams and his cricket equipment. But his friend and team-mate at Nondescripts Cricket Club, Sri Lanka’s wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara, helped him back onto his feet financially, aiding him buy the equipment he needed to play first-class cricket.

Meanwhile, India coach Greg Chappell has warned his team not to take an under-strength West Indies team lightly in the one-day series. Chappell says his team are excited by their imminent return to international cricket after a three-month break.

“There is a limit to how much training you can do and there is a bit of excitement around that we are getting back into it at last,” Chappell told reporters as the team applied the finishing touches to their preparations.

India play West Indies on Sunday.

Chappell, however, is anxious that his players, still rusty after their break, do not underestimate Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s young team.—Reuters