Team: Sinhalese Sports Club
ODI debut: 26/01/98
Past World Cups: -
Gunawardene is one of the brightest one-day batsmen in world cricket.
The 25-year-old has accumulated more than 1,000 runs, and his average of around 30 shows that he will be a vital cog in the Sri Lanka wheel.
The Colombo-born star plays his game aggressively.
That style attracted selectors, who handed him his debut in a match against Zimbabwe in 1998.
When Sanath Jayasuriya picked up an hand injury in Australia in 1998/9 he enjoyed a good run in the side and played two matches in the Asia Test Championship.
However, the left-hander failed to impress sufficiently and was left out of the 1999 World Cup squad.
The next two years saw him in and out of the side.
His call-up into the squad is somewhat of a surprise considering his lack of form, but selectors have strong faith in Gunawardene.