Sri Lanka discard Rajapaksa throws gauntlet at selectors with IPL heroics

Counter Punch
By Editor_1
Bhanuka Rajapaksa in action during the IPL -  Sportzpics
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By The Line Judge

Sri Lanka discard Bhanuka Rajapaksa finally let his bat do the talking after making a dream debut in the IPL (Indian Premier League) to silence his critics. The dashing southpaw who has courted controversy for speaking his heart out, made Sri Lanka’s cricket selectors eat humble pie with a match-winning knock for Punjab Kings in last Sunday’s (March 27) IPL clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mumbai. Rajapaksa’s blistering 22-ball 43 smashing two fours and four sixes helped Punjab chase down a formidable target of 206 with an over to spare in their first game of the season. The hard-hitting 30-year-old batter has become an instant celebrity in the IPL as he walked the talk after being promoted to the key position of number three in addition to keeping vigil behind the stumps.

The former Royal College star walked into the middle after leading T20 bowler Wanindu Hasaranga had claimed a wicket off the first ball dismissing Mayank Agarwal. However, Rajapaksa treated his Sri Lanka mate with disdain smashing two sixes and a four.

“I knew how Hasaranga bowls. It was about knowing him and playing him for the last four to five years now. I bought my local knowledge and it worked,” Rajapaksa said at the post-match presentation.

“What we thought was that we’d just have a free hit. Shikhar (Dhawan) wanted me to be aggressive although I had just come out to the middle. This win is a huge confidence booster. We watched this movie called ‘14 Peaks’ and we have 14 games. Every game is a batter’s game. The credit should go to the bowlers to restrict them to 200,” Rajapaksa added.

Bought by Punjab Kings for a base price of US$ 65,000, the Indian franchise seems to have realized Rajapaksa’s worth by not only giving him the prime slot of number three, but they also got him to keep wickets, a thought that had not occurred to Sri Lanka’s selectors with whom he has been at loggerheads. He was overlooked for Sri Lanka’s recent T20 series in Australia and India ostensibly for having failed fitness tests and maintaining high skinfold levels. He has not represented Sri Lanka in any form of international cricket since last year’s World Cup in UAE where he had a decent outing.

Rajapaksa even wanted to retire from international cricket in frustration after being cold-shouldered by Sri Lanka’s selectors headed by a former fast bowler Pramodya Wickramasinghe. The selectors are insisting that he needs to meet minimum fitness standards but their policies are hard to comprehend. The same panel at one point wanted him to play ODIs as well although his game is ideally suited for the T20 format. Now they don’t want him for either of white-ball formats. With Sri Lanka having lost all eight T20 internationals they have played this year, shunning Rajapaksa from national duty has surprised many.

Nonetheless, the good news for Sri Lanka in another T20 World Cup year is that Rajapaksa has realized that fitness is also key for survival in modern-day cricket although he firmly believes skills come first. Rajapaksa now wants to have a conversation with a supremely-fit Virat Kohli, who he calls the ‘Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket’.

He hopes to turn the tide after enduring a dramatic start to the year 2022 when he announced his international retirement in January and withdrew it a week later on the insistence of authorities. Rajapaksa is confident that his stint with Punjab Kings would benefit his career to the next level.

“IPL is the best league in the world and with every teammate of yours you get to learn a lot about the game, so I am loving picking the brains of Shikhar Dhawan. I get along very well with Mayank Agarwal as we played U-19 together,” Rajapaksa told PTI in an interview.

“Outside of the team, Virat Kohli is always someone I could speak to and get some advice on fitness. He’s at another different level when it comes to fitness.

“To me, he is the Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket for sure. The work he puts in you can obviously see the results. You can compare him to anyone when it comes fitness or even skills wise. He plays so hard and you can learn a lot by talking to him,” he said.

Rajapaksa maintains skill comes first but admits he is working hard on his fitness. “As a player you need your fitness but it could be different from person to person. For me, of course, skill comes first. And then the fitness, but if you are not fit enough you definitely can’t perform,” he said.

He is like a born-again cricketer and is now motivated to extend his international career by focusing on fitness as well. “I’m hoping to play for the next three to four years at least and do the best for the country because after my resignation I had to withdraw it back because I had a couple of conversations with the technical committee and the Sports Minister (Namal Rajapaksa who has since resigned from his portfolio) as well. They wanted me to reconsider my retirement and I decided to withdraw it,” he said.

This is not the first time he has been overlooked by selectors despite being an outstanding schoolboy talent. He had to wait almost a decade before getting his first big break albeit when some senior players refused to travel to Pakistan in December 2019. Since then he has had a roller-coaster ride playing in five ODIs and 18 T20 internationals. “It’s all about timing for me. I am pretty sure that I would have never been called to play for the country if it was not for the withdrawal of senior players. I had to wait almost nine to 10 years till I got my first opportunity and playing so many years of first class cricket has only helped me in international cricket,” said Rajapaksa, who has impressed of late with his power-hitting.

 -ENCL

 

 

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