Chamari Athapaththu

Chamari Athpaththu is a contemporary legend of Sri Lankan cricket, especially in the women’s game. She is the talismanic cricketer of this Sri Lankan side, often winning games almost single handedly. Chamari made her debut as a 19-year-old at the 2009 T20 World Cup and made a name for herself in her early years as an attack minded opener.

Chamari was named captain of Sri Lanka in 2014, and has since led her side in the 2018, 2020 and 2023 T20 World Cups. Under her captaincy, Sri Lanka picked up their first ODI series win over New Zealand, and also T20I series wins against South Africa and England. She also remains the only Sri Lankan female cricketer to score a century in ODI cricket. Athapaththu scored her first ODI ton against Ireland and has since scored eight more, including a superb knock of 178 against Australia.

One of Chamari’s finest moments in International cricket came in April, 2024 when she scored 195 not out in an ODI against South Africa as Sri Lanka chased down a target of 302 which remains the highest successful chase in women’s ODIs. Chamari is also the first Sri Lankan cricketer to top the ICC rankings for ODIs and also to play franchise cricket in other parts of the world.

Chamari Athapaththu has been involved in franchise tournaments all around the world, representing Sydney Thunder, Perth Scorchers, Oval Invincibles, Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors. She was also roped in for the Women’s Premier League by the UP Warriorz team as a replacement player for Lauren Bell.