Born on 19 March 1978, in the small village of Waduwawa, Kurunegala, on the southeastern tip of the Northwestern Province as the second of the family. His elder brother is Deepthi Herath. He was also promoted to the opening batting in school times, and acted as a pacer, until his coach told him to start spin bowling due to height problem. Before starting professional career, Herath was working at Sampath Bank as a clerk, when he met brother of Chandika Hathurusingha.