Athapaththu: Franchise cricket isn't about the money, I learn from them

In July this year, right after Barbados Royals announced Chamari Athapaththu 's signing for the Women's Caribbean League 2024 , they released a video about the role Kumar Sangakkara , Royals' director of cricket, had played in her onboarding.

Athapaththu, expectedly, had offers from a number of WCPL franchises. The Sangakkara factor was key in tilting the scales in Royals' favour.

It's a special bond. Athapaththu calls Sangakkara aiya , which is "big brother" in Sinhala, and is her role model. Three of the last ten posts (at the time of writing this) on Sangakkara's timeline on X mention Athapaththu. He even posted a video of himself following the last few minutes of Sri Lanka's maiden women's T20 Asia Cup title win - beating India in the final - from the commentary box in Birmingham.

"I got a few offers from CPL, but I chose the Barbados Royals, one because of Kumar Sangakkara, because I love him," Athapaththu told ESPNcricinfo in an interaction organised by FanCode . "He is one of the greatest cricketers ever produced by Sri Lanka. I got that opportunity because of him.

"I have played in every league around the world, but I love this competition. It is a different atmosphere. The players, support staff and everything is different compared to other countries. The players have a different vibe in the dressing room. It is a good opportunity."

Athapaththu has been in spectacular white-ball form this year. She is the leading run-scorer in T20Is in 2024 with 675 runs in 17 games at an average of 48.21 and a strike rate of 134.19. In ODIs, she is second on the run chart and that includes an epic 195 not out against South Africa, the third-highest individual score in a women's ODI.

In addition, she captains Sri Lanka in both formats and is a more-than-useful offspinner. Does that put additional pressure on her? And do the expectations weigh her down?

"Without pressure, I cannot perform," she said, beaming. "Earlier, whenever I was playing for Sri Lanka, the whole batting line-up used to rest on my shoulders. But I love that pressure. I always think about what I can do for my team as a player. When I am batting, I just think like a player, not like a captain, but I know I have responsibilities. My method is to keep it simple. Just see-ball-hit-ball. I just focus on my skills and how I can execute my plans at the right time."

Athapaththu's form has coincided with Sri Lanka's rise, especially in the T20 format. In the last 12 months , they have played 25 T20Is, of which they have won 19, the most for any team in that span. This includes T20I series wins in England and South Africa, qualifying for the final of the Asian Games, winning the T20 World Cup qualifiers, and lifting their maiden Asia Cup trophy.

She credited head coach Rumesh Ratnayake for Sri Lanka's recent success and a positive culture in the dressing room.

"[In the] last two to three years, we have had a good culture in the team. We even restructured our domestic structure, so we have got some good players," Athapaththu said. "Last 12 months, we have played really good cricket around the world. We've beaten some top teams, England, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies. We continued this in the Asia Cup and beat the best team [India] in the world.

"We always talk about positive things in our dressing room. The credit goes to our head coach. He is the key man behind the scenes."

The next target is the T20 World Cup 2024 , which begins in a little over a month in the UAE. Sri Lanka haven't made it to the semi-finals of the event yet, but with the form they are in, they will want to do it, and even go a step further, this time. It's not going to be easy though, with Sri Lanka slotted in group A along with India, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan.

"Our group is tough," Athapaththu said. "There is Australia, New Zealand, India and Pakistan. Last T20 World Cup semi-finalists and the champions in our group. Not easy, but at the end of the day in T20 cricket, anything can happen. One or two players can change the game. I trust my girls, and I hope we can play our best cricket in the T20 World Cup as well."

For the longest time for Sri Lanka, it was Athapaththu or bust. But in the last couple of years, a new crop of players have emerged. Harshitha Samarawickrama is the second-highest run-scorer in T20Is in 2024 with 534 runs at 41.07. Vishmi Gunaratne is sixth on the list with 447, while Kavisha Dilhari has shown good all-round capabilities. Samarawickrama has even bagged a WCPL contract with Trinbago Knight Riders for the 2024 season.

Athapaththu has carried the weight of the Sri Lankan batting for the longest time but with the new players emerging, she now has the freedom to play her "natural game".

"I am so happy about these two to three girls. Especially Vishmi, Harshitha and Kavisha," she said. "Kavisha is one of the good allrounders and Harshitha and Vishmi are the good batters in Sri Lanka. I always tell them to keep it simple, play your game, and not take too much pressure.

"A lot of the coaches, other team players, are also talking about these girls because they are really good. They don't have big muscles, but they are playing their best cricket in the middle. That is the important thing."

Athapaththu has been a regular in franchise leagues around the world. She has been part of the WBBL, the WPL, the Super Smash, and the Hundred to name a few. While the club vs country debate and having to adjust franchise cricket in a packed international schedules is a constant topic of discussion, Athapaththu relishes the chance to rub shoulders with the best in the business and learn from them.

"A lot of people think franchise cricket is all about money. I don't think like that. I have learnt a lot of things from franchise cricket," she said. "I can share the same dressing room with the youngsters and the top players. So, we can learn how they can prepare for the games, how they prepare from training, and how they manage themselves in the dressing room.

"I learn a lot of things from Sophie Devine, Beth Mooney, Harman [Harmanpreet Kaur]. There are different characters, different players, they know how to manage themselves in the middle, how they manage the pressure, how they handle the other players.

"Franchise cricket has developed women's cricket around the world and now we can see players score more runs. Even the team scores have gone a little bit higher. In the Asia Cup, we saw India score 165 and we chased that. Now players play different shots, there are different strategies because we learn from different coaches. These are the positive things I have learned from franchise cricket."

The next step is to push for a homegrown league in Sri Lanka, which Athapaththu says is in the works. "We are planning to play T10 league in December. It is on our calendar and next year we are also trying to organise a T20 league in Sri Lanka as well. My team-mates need exposure playing franchise leagues. If we play more games, we can develop our cricket, I know that."

Athapaththu has been around in the international scene for close to 15 years now, but at 34 knows she is close to the end of her career. As a batter, she has achieved accolades aplenty but as a captain, there are a few targets. One multi-tournament trophy in the form of the Asia Cup is in the bag. A T20 World Cup title could be the cherry on top.