De Silva made his debut for Ceylon in 1966-67 and played in most Sri Lankan teams thereafter until the mid-1980s. He also played in the M. J. Gopalan Trophy, a first class cricket tournament initiated between Ceylon and Madras. He was part of Sri Lanka's first World Cup team during the inaugural edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1975. He made his ODI debut on 7 June at the 1975 World Cup against West Indies which was also Sri Lanka's first ever ODI appearance. He picked up the most number of wickets among spin bowlers during the 1975 World Cup with four scalps, in a tournament which was dominated by seamers.