Having spent the previous two summers at Normandy CC of the Surrey Championship, turning out in 55 games for the club.

A useful performance against England 'A' in March 2005 (securing match-figures of eleven for 126) resulted in a Test recall in December.

[4] Bandara made his One Day International (ODI) debut against New Zealand in January 2006 at Wellington and was highly successful in the tournament, taking fourteen wickets at an average of 23.92, a strike rate of 29.20, and an economy rate of 4.90, bettering the team's more famous spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan.

He took his best bowling figures of four for 31 against South Africa in the final VB Series round robin match at the Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on 7 February 2006.

[5] He was subsequently not selected for Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka in 2005–06 and missed out on the Test series in England in 2006.