BCCI’s vice-president Rajeev Shukla has showered praise on rookie Sri Lankan batter Sonal Dinusha after the second Test match ended in a draw at Colombo on Thursday. Dinusha scored twin centuries in the match, scoring an unbeaten knock of 133 runs off 264 balls in the second innings. Furthermore, he scored 103 runs in the first innings as he batted at the top of his game.

The left-hander turned out to be a thorn in India’s flesh throughout the series. The southpaw amassed 420 runs in two Test matches at a stunning average of 140 and ended as the highest run-getter of the series. 

Shukla compared the young batter with legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

“This Sonal of Srilanka is an amazing player. Looking like Tendulkar. Can be a wonderful test player in international cricket. @OfficialSLC,” he wrote on X.

On the other hand, former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja had also lavished praise on the left-handed Sri Lankan batter.

“You can play those many balls while standing as well. I think the number of sweeps he had played was 125 at lunchtime. Whoever does exercise, how many squats do you do? You do 10, 20, or 30 squats, and how many lunges do you do? He is doing lunges and squats, and there is no protein shake after that,” Ajay Jadeja said on Sony Sports.

“There is no doubt that he is a special player. He showed how to play in spin-friendly conditions. In this innings, I don’t recall a silly point or short leg being placed when he started playing. He didn’t throw it away. We kept waiting, and he said he wouldn’t make a mistake. That shows his mental ability,” he added.

India won the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka by 1-0.