Vishmi Gunaratne is a young and emerging player from Sri Lanka. She is a right-handed batter who has shown immense potential from a very young age. In 2022, she rose to fame while playing for her school, Rathnavali Balika Vidyalaya. She smashed the first-ever quadruple century in Sri Lankan girls' cricket, scoring 417 off 128 balls against Jayasiripura KV. However, before that, in 2021, she was called up to the Sri Lanka ODI side for the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier, but that was called off due to COVID. Gunaratne played for Chilaw Marians Cricket Club during the 2021–22 Sri Lanka Women's Division One Tournament and scored 138* in her side's match against Sri Lanka Army Sports Club Second XI.
It did not take her long to make her international debut as she achieved that in 2022. She made her T20I debut against India while playing her first ODI against Scotland. She missed the following tour to Pakistan to sit for her GCE-O Level exams. Gunaratne returned for the home series against India, where she was involved in an 87-run opening stand, the best for Sri Lanka in T20Is, with Chamari Athapaththu. She was also part of the Sri Lankan team in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. In 2023, Gunaratne was selected to lead the side in the inaugural U-19 Women's T20 World Cup in South Africa, where she ended up as the leading run-scorer for her team with 134 runs and an average of more than 40. She impressed everyone and was included in the 2023 T20 World Cup squad for the Lankans. In 2024, Gunaratne made her maiden ODI hundred playing against Ireland Women, showing her excellent technique and determination. She has been doing pretty well in the shortest format and also won the 2024 Women's Asia Cup. Looking at her performances, she was named in the Sri Lankan team for the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup and the following year in the 2025 Women’s World Cup squad as well. Gunaratne has cemented her place in the national team and doing that at a very young age shows how talented she is and she can be one of the future stars of Women's cricket.
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