Remember Chinthaka Jayasinghe, T20 specialist who once faced MS Dhoni-led Team India? He now works as bus driver

Cricketers have a career span of 15-20 years as a professional at the highest level. In mid-30s when most people are beginning to settle in their work lives, star cricketers have to seek new ways to earn livelihood. 

DNA has been covering the lives of such cricketers. These range from Indian players like Joginder Sharma, Jatin Paranjpe and Amay Khurasiya to overseas stars like Zimbabwe’s Henry Olonga and Sri Lanka’s Suraj Randiv. 

Today, we talk about a T20 Specialist that once used to be up against Indian legends like MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, now drives a bus to make ends meet. Remember Chinthaka Jayasinghe? 

The 1978-born former Sri Lankan T20I cricketer played most of his international matches against India. He featured for Sri Lanka in a power-packed batting lineup boasting legends like Sanath Jayasuriya, Tilakratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. 

Jayasinghe played against the likes of MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. Jayasinghe also featured for Sri Lanka against England and New Zealand. 

Jayasinghe is a first-class cricket legend with 8500+ runs and 200+ wickets. He holds several records including fastest century and most sixes in multiple seasons. The T20 Specialist featured for Sri Lanka at the 2010 Asian Games and ICC World Twenty20. 

Jayasinghe moved to Australia in 2012. He now makes a living as a bus driver and plays cricket at the side. He was hired by transport firm Transdev through a “bus to bus program which helps experienced bus drivers transition into a new role via tailored training program”. He already knew how to drive a bus as his father owned three of them back home.