Kevin Koththigoda, the name surfaced in around the vicinity of Galle or at best the surrounding areas. For he was not the only mystery spinner going around in Sri Lanka, a country renowned for producing spinners, who don’t always follow the text book. But the ongoing U-19 Asia Cup in Malaysia changed a lot of things for the 18-year-old. Kotthigoda had become a talking point in the opposition camp and had attracted fair bit of media attention – all because of his bowling action.
With an action that resembles former South Africa chinaman spinner Paul Adams, Koththigoda has already started to make waves in cricket. The leg-spinner, who twists his body and has a release point from the back of his head, picked up one wicket in Sri Lanka’s win over Afghanistan in the Youth Asia Cup.
"He has a very unusual action. It's like that of Paul Adams. The action wasn't coached or anything, it came naturally to him. Initially, he was struggling with the length as he couldn't see the pitch, but he has improved tremendously," Dhammika Sudarshana, coach of Koththigoda told Cricbuzz.
"Since his action is unique, the batsmen get confused. He is an excellent fielder and a decent batsman. He has got a very bright future ahead of him," Sudarshana added.
India also has its very own Paul Adams in chinaman spinner Shivil Kaushik, who represented Gujarat Lions in IPL. But Koththigoda is the first leg spinner to make headlines with his bowling action.
Though he is yet to translate his deceptive actions into wickets but he has enough in him to raise the eyebrows of the opposition batsmen whenever he comes on to bowl.