Kumar Dharmasena is a Sri Lankan umpire and former all-rounder cricketer. He batted right-handed and bowled right-arm off-break. He is the only person to have both played and umpired in the Cricket World Cup. He has won the Umpire of the Year award twice and was nominated once. He is the second Sri Lankan to join the elite club of ICC umpires after Ashok de Silva.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Kumar Dharmasena was born on Saturday, 24 April 1971 (age 52 years; as in 2023) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His zodiac sign is Taurus. He completed his schooling from Campbell International School Colombo, and then graduated from Nalanda College in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Kumar Dharamsena used to play cricket when he was a child.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 8″
Weight (Approx): 70 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
Kumar Dharmasena is from a Sri Lankan Sinhalese family.
parents and siblings
His father’s name is Handunettige Dharmasena and mother’s name is Chandrani Dahanayake. Kumar’s father was a government employee and lived in Torrington, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
wife and children
Kumar Dharmasena is married to Dushanti Gunawardena. The couple has four children, 3 daughters, Aashi, Amanya and Ashalya, and a son Kavishka Dharmasena.
Kumar Dharmasena with his wife Dushanthi
Kumar Dharmasena with his wife and children
Religion
Kumar Dharmasena is a follower of Buddhism.
Address
He lives with his family in Wijerama Junction, Nugegoda, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
signature/autograph
livelihood
Cricket
player
Kumar Dharmasena started playing cricket in his childhood and was selected for the under-13 team of his alma mater, Nalanda Vidyalaya, Colombo in 1988. From 1988 to 1990, he played in the ‘Big Match’, known as the ‘Battle of the Maroons’. Played between Nalanda and Ananda College in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
In 1989, Kumar Dharmasena became the vice-captain of the Nalanda team.
In 1988, he was the vice-captain and in 1990, the captain of the Nalanda team.
Kumar Dharmasena was the captain of Nalanda team in the 1990 match.
He made his first-class and List-A debut in 1988–89 and played for Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, Nondescripts Cricket Club and Moratuwa Sports Club. He played his last List-A match, Nondescripts vs. Bloomfield, on 24 December 2005 at Colombo (SSC), and his last first-class match, Bloomfield vs. Colts, on 3 March 2006 at Colombo (Moors).
Kumar Dharmasena posing after the match
He made his Test debut in the Sri Lanka vs South Africa match held at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo, Sri Lanka between 6–10 September 1993. While batting, he scored 5 runs from 18 balls. However, his bowling performance was remarkable as he bowled 45 overs including 12 maiden overs and conceded only 91 runs at an economy rate of 2.02. He played his last match against Australia at the Galle International Stadium in Sri Lanka between 8–12 March 2004. In his Test match career, he played 31 matches and took 69 wickets while scoring 868 runs.
Kumar Dharmasena bowling in his first test match
On 24 August 1994, he made his ODI (One Day International) debut during the Sri Lanka vs Pakistan match held at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Kumar Dharmasena bowled 9 overs and took 2 wickets at an economy rate of 3.77 and gave 34 runs. He was part of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 Cricket World Cup.
Kumar Dharmasena celebrating his first ODI wicket with his teammates
In his ODI career, he played 141 matches and scored a total of 1222 runs; His best score was 69/83 with a strike rate of 83.13 against South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan on 6 November 1997. He took a total of 138 wickets, with his best performance coming in a match against South Africa on 21 December 1994, where he took 4/37 with an economy rate of 3.70.
umpire
Before retiring from international cricket, Dharmasena umpired in some domestic matches including the Sara Trophy, a major first-class cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. In 2006 he retired from playing and set out to become an umpire. He umpired his first ODI on 28 January 2009 between Sri Lanka and India at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Sri Lanka. He made his Twenty20 debut in a match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 2 September 2009, and his Test match debut in India vs New Zealand in Ahmedabad, India between 4–8 November 2010.
Kumar Dharmasena interacting with Sehwag and others during his first Test match
In 2011, he umpired a few matches in the ICC World Cup and in the same year he was appointed to the ICC Elite Panel of ICC umpires. He was selected as one of the twenty umpires to stand in the matches during the 2015 Cricket World Cup and officiated in the final match. He supervised the final match of the 2016 ICC Twenty20 World Cup and the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup between Pakistan and England.
Kumar Dharmasena was umpiring in the 2015 World Cup match
Business
Kumar Dharmasena is the owner of Pintanna Plantation Pvt Ltd, which specializes in cultivation, grafting and export of agarwood trees. In addition to the plantation, the company produces oud oil, perfumes and other agarwood-related products. Kumar has obtained license from the government to export these products.
Kumar Dharmasena in his company Pintanna Plantations Pvt. Ltd.
Controversy
Controversial decision in World Cup 2019
In July 2019, Dharmasena was selected as one of the two on-field umpires for the Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand. His controversial decision to give England 6 runs instead of 5 brought him at the center of criticism. The match was tied and the super over was also tied. England eventually won the trophy due to scoring more boundaries, resulting in an unexpected defeat for New Zealand. Later, Dharmasena admitted a mistake and said in an interview,
I agree that there was an error in judgment when I watch it now on TV replays. But we did not have TV replay facilities at the ground and I have no regrets about our decision. So, I consulted the leg umpire (Erasmus) through the communication system which all other umpires and match referees hear. Although they cannot check TV replays, they all confirmed that the batsmen had completed the second run. That’s when I took my decision.”
Kumar Dharmasena officiating in the New Zealand vs England World Cup 2019 final match
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- ICC Umpire of the Year 2012 and 2018 – David Shepherd Trophy
Kumar Dharmasena with his Umpire of the Year Award 2012
- Deshbandhu Award 1996 (third highest national honor in Sri Lanka)
- Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Award 1989
car collection
He owns two cars, a Porsche and a jeep.
Kumar Dharmasena posing while driving his Porche car
Favorite
- Umpires: Srinivasan Venkataraghavan, David Sheppard, Steve Buckner
- Players: Brian Lara, Aravinda de Silva, Salim Malik
Facts/General Knowledge
- Kumar Dharmasena has the unique distinction of being the only person to officiate in an ICC Cricket World Cup final as both a player and umpire. He was a member of the victorious Sri Lankan team in the 1996 Cricket World Cup and served as an on-field umpire in the 2015 and 2019 Cricket World Cups.
- Her full name is Handunnetij Deepti Priyantha Kumara Dharmasena.
- Kumar Dharmasena’s ODI T-shirt number was 66.
- His teammates nicknamed him Unanduwa for his inspiring actions as a team man and motivating his teammates even in difficult times.
- Kumar Dharmasena’s career came to a halt after the 1998 Oval Test when the ICC questioned his bowling action of overstretching to illegal proportions. However, in July 2000, the Sri Lankan Cricket Board cleared him to play again.
- The record of playing most ODI innings (72) before getting out on zero is in the name of Kumar Dharmasena.
- She was featured on the cover of Youth Observer magazine in its November 2020 edition.
Kumar Dharmasena appeared on the cover page of Youth Observer Magazine.
- Kumar Dharmasena follows a non-vegetarian diet and occasionally consumes alcohol.
Kumar Dharmasena drinking alcohol with his son and others
- His colleagues and players often jokingly call him the Dharmasena Review System (DRS).
- He was Sri Lanka’s youngest international umpire on his ODI debut in 2009.
- Dharmasena was trained by CH Gunasekera Jr. and then Jayantha Seneviratne during his school days.
- According to him, meditation has improved his focus, which is an important and valuable skill for umpiring. Fitness is also very important for the job, so he walks 5-6 km daily.
- After completing his formal education at Nalanda, Kumar Dharmasena got a job at Hatton National Bank (HNB) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which helped him pursue a career as a club cricketer and then an international cricketer.
- He was the runner-up for the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Award three times, in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
- He has been guided and trained by Peter Manuel to become an umpire.
- Kumar Dharmasena holds the record of officiating in the most number of matches as a foreign umpire in IPL history.
94 – Kumar Dharmasena holds the record for most matches as a foreign umpire in IPL history.#kumardharmasena #IPL #IPL2021 #umpire #Cricket #Cricket #Virat Kohli #csk #M S Dhoni #Rohit Sharma #rcb #India #dhoni #ICC #MumbaiIndians #IndianCricket #bcci #IndianCricketTeam #msd pic.twitter.com/JdGpcb0SYG
– Sportsmint Media (@sportsmint) April 24, 2021
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn