Uvais Karnain

Sri Lankan cricketer

Shaul Hameed Uvais Karnain (born 11 August 1962) is a Sri Lankan former Sri Lankan cricketer who played 19 One Day Internationals (ODI) between 1984 and 1990. Making his ODI debut in 1984 against New Zealand, he took a five wicket haul, thus becoming the first debutant to do so in ODIs. Karnain started playing cricket at Isipathana College, Colombo.

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Karnain started playing first class cricket for Moors Sports Club and Nondescripts Cricket Club during the 1982–83 season.

A right arm medium fast bowler, he made his ODI debut in March 1984 against New Zealand at the Tyronne Fernando Stadium, Moratuwa. Batting first, Sri Lanka was struggling at 81 runs for the loss of 6 wickets when Karnain joined Arjuna Ranatunga and scored 28 runs off 24 balls. In the second innings, he took 5 wickets for 26 runs as New Zealand was bowled out for 116 runs. In the event, he became the first player to take a five wicket haul on ODI debut. His performance with both bat and ball ensured Sri Lanka's victory and earned him a man of the match award. Karnain was then selected for the World Series Cricket and the World Championship of Cricket, both during the 1984–85 season in Australia. In nine matches that he played in the World Series Cricket, he scored 173 runs at an average of 43.25. Although his performance with the bat earned him a good repute, his performance with the ball was criticized as he conceded a lot many runs in both the tournaments. He was also a part of the Sri Lankan team that lost to India in the Wills Asia Cup in 1988. This was followed by the Austral Asia Cup which was held in the United Arab Emirates in 1990. The series marked his last appearance in international cricket.

As of April 2015, Karnain was one of the members of the selection committee of the Sri Lanka women's national cricket team.