Wife: Chewanthi Perera
Dasun Shanaka is a powerful allrounder who has been a central figure in Sri Lankan cricket, both as a player and as a leader during challenging times. The 34-year-old from Negombo is a talented T20 finisher and a handy right-arm medium pacer, known for his ability to clear boundaries and deliver under pressure. His leadership came to the fore when he captained Sri Lanka to the T20 Asia Cup title in 2022, a triumph that lifted the nation’s spirits during an economic crisis. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka also achieved white-ball series wins against South Africa, Australia, and India at home between 2021 and 2022, and led the team to 13 consecutive ODI wins in 2023 despite missing key bowlers. His career highlights include a memorable 54 not out off 25 balls to chase down 65 from the last five overs against Australia, and a match-winning 56 off 22 balls with two wickets against India in Pune in 2023—seven years after he had taken 3 for 16 in a rare win at the same venue. Despite being removed as white-ball captain after the 2023 ODI World Cup, he returned to the role ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, underlining his enduring importance to Sri Lankan cricket.
| Batting & Fielding | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
| Tests | 6 | 12 | 2 | 140 | 66* | 14.00 | 276 | 50.72 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| ODIs | 71 | 63 | 5 | 1299 | 108* | 22.39 | 1420 | 91.47 | 2 | 4 | 103 | 42 | 18 | 0 |
| T20Is | 131 | 118 | 25 | 1912 | 76* | 20.55 | 1489 | 128.40 | 0 | 8 | 129 | 106 | 52 | 0 |
| FC | 76 | 109 | 11 | 4225 | 130 | 43.11 | 5690 | 74.25 | 13 | 22 | 387 | 154 | 48 | 0 |
| List A | 179 | 151 | 23 | 3383 | 108* | 26.42 | 3531 | 95.80 | 3 | 11 | 236 | 148 | 65 | 0 |
| T20s | 288 | 260 | 61 | 5119 | 131* | 25.72 | 3572 | 143.30 | 3 | 19 | 364 | 301 | 106 | 0 |
| Bowling | ||||||||||||||
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w | |
| Tests | 6 | 8 | 762 | 431 | 13 | 3/46 | 5/112 | 33.15 | 3.39 | 58.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| ODIs | 71 | 46 | 1056 | 999 | 27 | 5/43 | 5/43 | 37.00 | 5.67 | 39.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| T20Is | 131 | 75 | 841 | 1155 | 46 | 3/16 | 3/16 | 25.10 | 8.24 | 18.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| FC | 76 | 92 | 4757 | 2900 | 92 | 6/69 | 8/84 | 31.52 | 3.65 | 51.7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| List A | 179 | 114 | 3062 | 2740 | 93 | 5/43 | 5/43 | 29.46 | 5.36 | 32.9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| T20s | 288 | 162 | 2004 | 2953 | 112 | 4/16 | 4/16 | 26.36 | 8.84 | 17.8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
He is an allrounder who bats right-handed, bowls right-arm medium pace, and is known for his power-hitting and finishing abilities in T20 cricket.
He made his international debut in 2015, with his Test debut in May 2016 and his ODI debut a month later, where he took a five-wicket haul against Ireland.
He led Sri Lanka to the T20 Asia Cup title in 2022 during an economic crisis, oversaw white-ball series wins against South Africa, Australia, and India at home, and guided the team to 13 consecutive ODI wins in 2023.
He smashed 54 not out off 25 balls to chase down 65 from the last five overs against Australia in Pallekele, and scored an unbeaten 56 off 22 balls with two wickets to beat India in Pune in 2023.
He has represented two IPL franchises: Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals.
He stands at 6 feet tall and was born on September 9, 1991, in Negombo, making him 34 years old.
He was reappointed as Sri Lanka's white-ball captain ahead of the tournament, though Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
He has scored over 1,200 Test runs and taken more than 30 wickets, including a Test fifty in Centurion in 2020 where he also bowled nearly 30 overs of medium pace.
