Warushavithana Upul Tharanga was born in Balapitiya, Sri Lanka on 2nd February, 1985.Tharanga received his education in Ambalangoda at Dharmasoka College. The 29 year old left handed batsman has been a part of the Sri Lankan cricket squad since the year 2005. Prior to his selection, his family was devastated in the Asian tsunami where their family home at Ambalangoda was washed away. Tharanga represented various clubs in his career so far, such as Nondescripts Cricket Club, Singha Sports Club, Sri Lanka A, Asia XI, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Ruhuna. Kandurata Maroons etc.
Tharanga, alongside being a batsman, also features as an occasional wicketkeeper. From the early age of 15, Tharanga used to play for Nondescripts. He was a part of the under-19 team of Sri Lanka when they won the 2004 World Cup where he scored a whooping 117. Tharanga played his first List A for Nondescripts Cricket Club vs. Sebastianites Cricket and Athletic Club on 20th September 2003 in Colombo. He made his First Class debut in 2000. His test ebut was against India on 18-22 December 2005 at Ahmedabad where he couldn’t score much. He debuted in the ODIs against West Indies in 2005 at Dambulla and his T20 debut was against England on June 15th 2006, where he added 34 runs to the scoreboard.
Tharanga’s career reached an early high in 2006 and then faced some major adversities in 2007 and subsequent years. In 2011 he picked up the gears again and resurfaced. One major stigma on his career was the positive dope test after world cup of 2011. Due to this breach of ICC Anti-Doping Code, Tharanga was banned from cricket and related activities from 9th May 2011 to 8th August 2011.