Kaushal Silva is rated by Kumar Sangakkara as a highly talented wicketkeeper-batsman. In fact, Sangakkara once said that it was the presence of the world's current best Test wicketkeeper, Prasanna Jayawardene, that kept Silva on the sidelines. A right-hand middle order-batsman, Silva has been a prolific scorer for Sinhalese Sports Club in the domestic circuit and has built up, in a relatively short time, a reputation of being a calm, sensible batsman able to play under pressure.

He captained Sri Lanka A against Pakistan A in early 2009 and was a member of the Sri Lankan Test squad which won the three-Test against Pakistan the same year, but was not part of the playing XI in any of the games. Silva was named in Sri Lanka's squad for a series of three Tests with India in late 2009.