He was a hard hitting opening batsman and a medium fast bowler, who played four Tests and 39 One Day Internationals between 1983 and 1994.
[4] Athula Samarasekera started his cricket career at Mahinda College, Galle, where he had his education.
[5] Samarasekera was one of the first openers to successfully take the advantage of field restrictions by hitting air-borne shots in ODI cricket.
[6] Tall and correct, he was an aggressive batsman and more than a handy bowler, but failed to make his mark in international cricket with the limited opportunities he got.
[2] Samarasekera chose to end his international career in 1994 by deciding to take up professional cricket in Bangladesh, since he never had the opportunity to fully establish a permanent position in the team.