Melbourne Renegades sign former Sri Lankan first class leg-spinner from Victorian Premier Cricket for BBL season

After a dazzling entrance to Premier ranks last season with Casey South Melbourne, Kellapotha has been signed by the Melbourne Renegades.

The former Sri Lankan first-class player was twice man-of-the-match for the Gades’ Academy team in the recent Top End T20 Tournament in Darwin, prompting the Renegades to secure him for the 2022-23 BBL campaign.

Kellapotha, 31, was selected in the Premier Cricket team of the year after capturing 37 wickets at 15.6 for Casey South Melbourne last season.

He also won the Swans’ club championship.

Kellapotha had spent the previous eight years playing local cricket in the Dandenong District association.

CSM head coach and former Victorian paceman Will Carr said his club was “ecstatic, just ecstatic’’ for the leggie, who attracted attention from other BBL teams.

“He’s put in the hard yards and got some reward,’’ Carr said.

“He works extremely hard on his game and he’s a very talented player. He’s developing both as a player and a person, and he deserves the opportunity.’’

Carr coached Kellapotha at Berwick and convinced him to try his luck at Premier level.

After only one match last season he was called up to play for the Victorian Second XI.

Former Vics selector Mark Ridgway assessed him as a “star’’.

“I think he’ll be a bit of a surprise packet for those who haven’t seen him before,’’ Carr said.

“He’s got terrific control, he spins it both ways – the leggie and the wrong ‘un – and he’s hard to pick. That’s the bowling. He offers a fair bit with the bat – in an Academy game the Renegades opened the batting with him and he got 40-odd off 20-odd balls – and he’s a good fielder. He’s a three-dimensional player. He’ll give them options throughout the tournament.’’

Before joining Casey South Melbourne Kellapotha won the Dandenong District association’s Wookey Medal as best and fairest player, polling the most votes in the history of the award and achieving the greatest winning margin.

He grabbed 45 votes from 12 matches after collecting 34 wickets at 11.2 and cracking 353 runs at 44.1.

Kellapotha played 20 first-class matches in Sri Lanka, making 617 runs at 38.56 and taking 55 wickets at 29.41.

He joined Springvale South as an overseas player in 2013-14 and had two strong seasons, picking up 20 and then 39 wickets, as well as hitting two centuries.

Then it was on to Keysborough for two seasons and two at St Mary’s.

Two seasons at Berwick brought him a premiership and the competition medal.

Last year Berwick captain Matt Chasemore and former Premier Cricket ace Matthew Chasemore said his all-rounder was a “super player’’ and a team-first cricketer.

“He’s my equal-second favourite cricketer with Shaun Marsh, behind my son (Callum),’’ he said.

“And he’s so humble it’s not funny. He’ll do whatever you ask him to do. He’s not the sort of guy who says, ‘This is what I’m doing’. He says it to me all the time – ‘Whatever you think, skip’. I hear it every week.’’

Referring to Kellapotha’s time in local cricket, Carr said Blind Freddy could see the leggie had another level in him.

He had thrived in the more professional environment of Premier Cricket, with the Renegades’ Academy squad and the Victorian emerging players’ squad, he said.