Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have produced some of the top cricketers in the world but the two nations are now fighting it out to be at the peak again. While Sri Lanka have won the 1996 world cup and 2014 T20 world cup with the likes of their heavyweight names, Zimbabwe have test win against Pakistan in 1995 followed by their golden era from 1997-2002 but post 2003, their form has been on a decline and they have been fighting their way to be at the top again.
However, three cricketers from these two countries found it hard to retain their spot in the national team and they went ahead to Australia and became bus driver to make their ends meet.
1- Suraj Randiv
Former Sri Lankan spinner Suraj Randiv is now 36 years old. He made his ODI and Test debut against India in 2009 and 2010 and was an important part of the Sri Lankan team. Randiv played a total of 50 international matches and took 86 wickets.
The Matara born was part of the Sri Lankan team that plied their trade in 2011 world cup and was also a part of Chennai Super Kings in IPL. He was recently seen in the Australian team’s net session during the Border-Gavaskar series against India.
Randiv now plays at the district level in Australia. He represents Dandenong Cricket Club, which is affiliated with Victoria Premier Cricket and participates in Cricket Australia State Competitions. To meet their ends meet, he is forced to be a bus driver for a France based transport company named Transdev in Melbourne, Australia.
2- Chinthaka Jayasinghe
Jayasinghe plays for Westmeadows Cricket Club in Melbourne, Australia in the Victorian Turf Cricket Association, where he has won many accolades and two championships. He is also a bus driver for Transdev.
The 42-year-old made his International debut in a T20I against India at Nagpur in 2009. He was also a part of Sri Lanka’s squad that played in 2010 T20 world cup.
Waddington Mwayenga
This Zimbabwean all-rounder played a total of four international matches. He made his Test debut against India in 2005. The match was also his first and last Test. In this match, he scored 14 not out from seven balls while batting at number ten and took the only wicket of captain Sourav Ganguly. At that time, the Indian team was on a tour of Zimbabwe under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly.
The medium pacer now serves as bus driver for Transdev.
