[3] He eventually went on to captain the Thomian cricket team,[4] and was chosen as Sri Lanka's best schoolboy batsman in 1964.
[6] Both Anura and Nelun celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on 6 June 2024 with a religious service attended by his family members in a special ceremony to mark the occasion.
[6] He played his first first-class match for Ceylon against an English side in 1966, and was later picked up by the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC).
This is regarded as one of the best centuries scored by a Sri Lankan batsman before the country gained Test status.
The first match was played against the West Indies on 7 June 1975, ended in defeat for Sri Lanka who managed to score only 86 runs.
He made the highest score and only half-century of his ODI career during this match, making 59 runs off 96 deliveries before being bowled out by Warren Stott.
[17] Sri Lanka received full member status of the International Cricket Council in 1982, two years after Tennekoon's retirement.
[19] In March 2020, he unveiled his autobiography titled Passionately Cricket which he indicated as a tribute to his wife Nelun Ramanayake and also dedicated the book to her.