Bandara made his Test debut against
New Zealand in 1998 but performed poorly and was subsequently dropped. A useful performance against England 'A' in March 2005 (securing match-figures of eleven for 126) resulted in a Test recall in December. He finished the three-Test series against
India with nine wickets at an average of 32.88. 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. This performance ensured Sri Lanka's place in the finals against
Australia. 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. ==References==