List of Famous people born in Sri Lanka
Abhinandan Varthaman
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman VrC is an Indian Air Force fighter pilot who, during the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff, was held captive in Pakistan for 60 hours after his aircraft was shot down in an aerial dogfight. He was awarded a medal by the Indian government for the alleged shooting down of a PAF F-16 with his MiG-21 Bison.
Chamath Palihapitiya
Chamath Palihapitiya is a Canadian-American venture capitalist, engineer, politician and the founder and CEO of Social Capital. Palihapitiya was an early senior executive at Facebook, joining the company in 2007 and leaving in 2011. He is a minority stakeholder and board member of the Golden State Warriors. In January 2021, he launched his California gubernatorial campaign, in support of a recall election for incumbent governor Gavin Newsom.
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. He captained the Sri Lankan 2014 T20 World Cup winning side. He was considered as one of the best bowlers of his time. He is the only bowler to have taken 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls in international cricket. He is a right-arm fast bowler that is commonly used as a specialist death bowler, and is well known for his distinctive round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nicknames, 'Slinga Malinga'.
Muttiah Muralitharan
Deshabandu Muttiah Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan cricket coach and former professional cricketer. Averaging over six wickets per Test match, Muralitharan is one of the most successful bowlers in international cricket and the first to take 800 wickets in Tests. As of December 2020 he has taken more wickets in Test matches than any other cricketer.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, RWP, RSP, psc, GR is a Sri Lankan politician and former military officer currently serving as the 8th President of Sri Lanka since 2019. He has previously served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development from 2005 to 2015 under the administration of his elder brother former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, leading the Sri Lankan Armed Forces to the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, which ended the Sri Lankan Civil War.
George Alagiah
George Maxwell Alagiah is a British newsreader, journalist and television news presenter.
Mahinda Rajapaksa
Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa, commonly known as Mahinda Rajapaksa, is the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and Minister of Finance since 2019. He previously served as the Prime Minister from 2004 to 2005 and as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015. Rajapaksa was the Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2004, then again from 2018 to 2019. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kurunegala since the 2015 parliamentary elections.
Kumar Sangakkara
Kumar Chokshanada Sangakkara is a Sri Lankan cricket commentator, cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport. Sangakkara scored 28,016 runs in international cricket across all formats in a career that spanned 15 years. At retirement, he was the second-highest run-scorer in ODI cricket and sixth-highest run scorer in Test cricket.
Angelo Mathews
Angelo Davis Mathews,, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer and a former captain in all formats. He was also a key member of the team that won the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 and was part of the team that made the finals of 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and 2012 ICC World Twenty20. An occasional bowler who can deliver swinging match-winning spells, Mathews and Lasith Malinga holds the record for the highest ninth wicket partnership in ODI cricket.
Isuru Udana
Isuru Udana Tillakaratna, is a professional Sri Lankan cricketer who represents Sri Lanka in limited over formats. He currently plays domestic cricket for Tamil Union and Wayamba. Primarily a left arm fast bowler, Udana evolved as an all-rounder in late 2018.