OTD | Former Sri Lankan bowler Farveez Maharoof was born in 1984

Former Sri Lanka fast bowling all-rounder Farveez Meharoof was born on 7 September 1984. The right-arm speedster made his international debut in April 2004 and went on to represent the island nation in all three formats. Meharoof was part of the Lankan team that finished as runners-up in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. 

The journey of this Colombo-born cricketer is quite fascinating. He started playing cricket at the age of eight alongside football and rugby. Maharoof was a wicketkeeper-batsman during his college time and only began bowling regularly from under-13 cricket onwards.  

He was called upon to bowl before a match when some of his teammates fell ill. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he took six wickets, including a hat-trick, an incident that prompted him to focus on his fast bowling. Notably, Maharoof was adjudged Player of the Match in the final of a tri-series tournament between Sri Lanka A, India A and Pakistan A. 

Meharoof was appointed as Sri Lanka’s captain in the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. The same year he made his debut in both ODI and Test formats. The right-hander has played 22 Tests and 109 ODIs, scoring 556 and 1113 runs respectively. In the longer format, Meharoof has taken 25 wickets, while in 50-over cricket, he has grabbed 135 wickets at an economy rate of 4.89, including two five-wicket hauls. 

The 40-year-old has represented Sri Lanka in eight T20Is, in which he scored 33 runs and took seven wickets. He was bought by the Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) for the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. He took 15 wickets in the tournament at an average of 16.60. 

Meharoof focused more on accuracy rather than pace as the pitches in Sri Lanka are generally slow. Talking about his batting style, the 6 ft 3 cricketer takes an aggressive approach while possessing excellent technique and shots.