Name game: A unique record in the making

There are 480 alphabets, 59 words, 15 members and one team...

There are 480 alphabets, 59 words, 15 members and one team—that’s Sri Lankan cricket team for you. With an average of 32 alphabets per name, this team is the longest named international cricket team, which contains 23 of the 26 alphabets in English dictionary except q, x and z.

A strange record in the making for sure, but there’s more coming your way with Asanka Welegedera. The rookie left-arm pacer is being billed as the next Chaminda Vaas for his ability to bring the ball back in at a brisk pace and for his seemingly smooth action. But there’s one other reason than pure cricketing dialects.

Uda Walawwe Mahim Bandaralage Chanaka Asanka Welegedera is the cricketer with the longest initials in world cricket and has one more than existing record holder Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas. However, the senior left-arm seamer will still hold the record for being the longest name in international cricket with 52 alphabets while his understudy Welegedera stands with 49. And together the two left-armers take up 13 of the 59 names.

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Interestingly, Muttiah Muralitharan is the smallest name in the Lankan team with just 19 alphabets followed by Sanathan Teran Jayasuriya. Kulasekera Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekera is the only player in the team who has the same initials as his last name.

Moving further from the names, a couple of Sri Lankan players are still having problems with their spellings too. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene is the first to object and has also written to the ICC to get the spellings right. Mahela’s last name is Jayawardena. Also there’s still a raging debate on Murali, whether he’s Muralidharan or Muralitharan. While most of the cricketing world, including the ICC, prefers to use the latter, the bowler was heard requesting to be called Muralidharan.

And you thought only our Sreesanth has been having problems in asking people to get his name correct? Still dazed by the tongue-twisting never ending names? Thankfully, the Sri Lankan cricketers don’t believe in Feng Shui and dabble with spellings like most of our Indian cricketers and film stars. However, there’s one little thing to wonder. How do the Sri Lankan cricketers get their full names on the passports?

Regardless of it all, this team has played some beautiful cricket and set up the competition nicely for the second stage of this tri-series. So like the Aussies here say, “what’s in a name anyways maiite?”

Lankan squad

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Denegamage Proboth Mahela DeSilva Jayawardena, Sanath Teran Jayasuriya, Kumar Chakshanada Sangakkara, Warashavithana Upal Tharanga, Mahawaduge Dilruwan Kamalaneth Perera, Tillekeratne Mudiyansilage Dilshan, Lindamlilage Prageeth Chamara Silva, Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas, Uda Walawwe Mahim Bandaralage Chanaka Asanka Welegedera, Separamadu Lasith Malinga, Kulasekera Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekera, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mohamed Farveez Maharoof, Merenna Koralage Don Ishara Amerasinghe.