Thisara Perera calls it quits from international cricket

Swashbuckling Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera has called it quits from international cricket at the age of 32. The lower order hard-hitting batsman and an efficient medium pacer, Perera made the revelation in a letter to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board stating that he feels this is the correct time for him to “step aside and pave way for younger and more talented players”. Meanwhile has also added that he wants to spend more time with his family and achieve some of his personal goals. 

Perera has been one of the decorated Sri Lankan cricketers with immense abilities with both bat and the ball. However, he lacked consistency all through his 11-year long career. Making his limited-overs debut way back in 2009, Perera donned the Sri Lankan blues in 166 ODI’s and 84 T20I’s besides playing six Tests back in 2016. 

As Sri Lanka were in the process of recovery following the retirement of several stalwarts, Perera turned out to be one of the most prominent members, especially in the white-ball format. He played a stellar role in Sri Lanka’s triumphant campaign in the 2014 T20 World Cup. Perera shone with the bat in the final against India besides also making a mark during the 2011 final against the same oppositions. He considers being part of the 2014 World Cup team as the highlight of his career. 

"I take pride in the fact that I was able to represent Sri Lanka in seven cricket World Cups and be a contributing member of the 2014 T20 World Cup win against India in Bangladesh," Perera said. "Easily the highlight of my life,” Perera was quoted by ESPNCricinfo. 

Perera had also carried out captaincy duties for Lanka. He was appointed both the ODI and the T20I captain in 2017. The southpaw made a stellar contribution with the bat in 2019 when he smashed a 74 balls 140 against New Zealand to bring up his maiden ODI century. The innings included as many as 13 sixes which still remains the most by a Sri Lankan batsmen in ODI’s. He is also one of those very few players who boast of having a hat-trick in both ODIs and T20Is. 

"Thisara was a brilliant all-rounder, who has contributed immensely as a player to Sri Lanka Cricket and played a part in some of the glorious cricketing moments of the country," said the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket Ashley De Silva. 

Discover more
Top Stories
news

SL vs BAN | 2nd Test - Sri Lanka complete formalities, thrash Bangladesh to a 1-0 series win

Sri Lanka didnt take much time to complete the formalities on the final day of the second Test against Bangladesh registering a convincing 209 runs victory to win the series 1-0. Sri Lanka was smelling victory by the end of day 4 and made sure that they finished off proceedings early on Day 5. With 5 wickets already down, Bangladesh needed to bat out of their skin to harbour hopes of getting anywhere close to the target. However, nothing of that sort transpired as the two spinners Ramesh Mendis and Praveen Jayawickrama ran through the Bangladesh lower order. Bangladesh began the final day’s play on 177/5 with still 260 more runs to win the encounter. Liton Das was the first man dismissed in the day’s play as he was trapped in front of a slider from Jayawickrama. The slow left-arm spinner bagged his second five-wicket haul of the match and also finishing with a 10 wicket match haul. Taijul Islam was the next man dismissed and this time it was Dhananjaya de Silva who bagged the wicket. Seven wickets down and Sri Lanka looked like finishing off the match in quick time. A brief 21 runs partnership between Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan defied the Sri Lankan bowlers for a few overs but the inevitable was always on the cards. The last three wickets fell without any more addition to the score as Bangladesh were skittled out for 227 in 71 overs, thus handing a 209 victory to the Islanders. While Mendis bagged four and Jayawickrama snapped up 5 wickets yet again. Brief Scores Sri Lanka 1st innings- 493/7 dec (Lahiru Thirimanne 140, Dimuth Karunaratne 118, Taskin Ahmed 4/127) Bangladesh 1st innings- 251 all-out (Tamim Iqbal 92, Praveen Jayawickrama 6/92) Sri Lanka 2nd innings- 194/9 dec (Dimuth Karunaratne 66, Taijul Islam 5/72) Bangladesh 2nd innings- 227 all-out (Mushfiqur Rahim 40, Praveen Jayawickrama 5/86) Sri Lanka won by 209 runs

news

BREAKING | KKR vs RCB postponed as Varun Chakravarthy & Sandeep Warrier return Covid positive

The 30th match of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore which was scheduled to be held on Monday, 3 May, has been postponed due to Covid-19 scare in the KKR camp, several media reports have claimed. KKR players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier are reported to be the players to have contracted the virus, while the rest of the team has tested negative. Australian journalist Peter Lalor had initially broken the news over Twitter that the match has been called off after one player tested positive in the KKR team. Right after the break, Boria Majumdar also stated that only one player had contracted the virus but a BCCI official confirmed to news agency ANI under anonymity that players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier are the ones who are Covid positive. The Board for Control of Cricket in India are said to have been doing everything they can to manage the situation. Reports have stated that two KKR players Varun Chakravarthy and Sandeep Warrier had gone to the hospital and might have contracted the virus from there. BCCI regulations mandate that there needs to be a separate bubble window that needs to be created for these kinds of hospital visits. At the moment, according to the BCCI SOP, 'close contacts of the positive players' need to return three negative tests in the next six days before joining the team again. This is a developing story. More details are awaited.

news

IPL 2021 | PBKS vs DC: What Experts said as Mayank Agarwal's brilliance goes in vain

It was a thoroughly convincing all-round performance from the Delhi Capitals as they thrashed the Punjab Kings by 7 wickets in the 29th match of the competition to go atop the points table having acquired 12 points from 8 encounters. Riding on a good bowling show and breezy knocks from Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw, the Capitals chased the target down with 14 deliveries to spare. Punjab Kings needed early wickets to defend the score of 166. However that wasn’t to be as Prithvi Shaw again got them off to a brisk start. The stylish right-handed batsman played some delightful shots en route to 39 of 24 deliveries which included three fours and three sixes. It was strokeplay of the highest order as Prithvi and Dhawan shared 63 runs stand in just over 6 overs. It was Harpreet Brar who undid Prithvi Shaw with a terrific delivery turning away from him. Punjab Kings would have hoped that this was the beginning of a downfall but that wasn’t to be. Shikhar Dhawan took the onus on hismelf and shared a 48 runs stand with Steve Smith which got DC closer to the victory target. Dhawan struck some exceptional shots and went onto acclaim the Orange Cap yet again en route to yet another well-deserved half-century. The southpaw remained unbeaten on 69 of 47 deliveries and made sure that he took his side over the finishing line. Rishabh Pant also struck some lusty blows before departing but by then, DC were sensing victory. Eventually Shimron Hetmyer smashed some big blows and remained unbeaten on 16 of a mere 4 deliveries to seal the match for the Capitals. Earlier in the day it was Pant who won the toss and put Punjab in. Prabhsimran Singh and Mayank Agarwal came out to open the innings. Mayank replaced Rahul in the XI and also led the side in his absence. The opening partnership was brought to an end pretty early after Simran Singh smashed a six of Ishant Sharma. Chris Gayle looked in good touch but was dismissed by a full toss shaping away from Gayle. He was beaten for pace and movement and the stumps went for a cartwheel. Mayank Agarwal didnt face enough deliveries in the first twelve overs as wickets kept falling at the other end. Dawid Malan shared a good stand with Mayank but the former found it difficult to get going. He struggled his way to a run ball 26. Mayank Agarwal after spending considerable amount of time in the middle suddenly went berserk in the last few overs. He took the DC bowlers by the scruff of their neck and belted them all around the Narendra Modi Stadium. He smashed 23 runs in the final over including a couple of fours and sixes in the last three deliveries falling just a run short of a well-deserved century. Despite his individual brilliance, the score didn’t prove to be enough as Punjab suffered their 5th loss of the season. Captain’s Viewpoints Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant showered his praises on the whole for their all-round brilliance. Pant felt that with Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw getting them off to flying starts in most of the matches, DC looks in good stead. “I think Shikhy bhai and Prithvi gave us a very good start, that's why the innings looked much better. The first innings it was really gripping. The way they started was commendable. It feels so good when you have a great start each and every match with a mixture of youth and experience,” Pant said. He further explained that most of the things inside the team seems very sorted and that is the reason they are at the top of the points table with six victories. Leading a team loaded with experienced players, Pant is utilising the opportunities of getting help from the senior campaigners. He also lauded the bowling unit of DC who has been simply phenomenal in the tournament so far. “You can see that everyone is doing so well around them. Most things are sorted out but we need to try out a few options for the Kolkata matches. The competition in the team is very good. When you see, there is a lot of gun bowling that we have. I'm enjoying everyday, using my experience, using the seniors around me. We are trying to make an environment where everyone feels good,” Dhawan said. Having led the Punjab Kings in the absence of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal gave an update on his injury and hoped that he will be back soon fit and fine. Despite a sensational knock Punjab Kings had to go down. Mayank said that he would have easily traded a win for a lesser score. However there was no denying the fact that he was completely superb to get his side to a competitive total in the end. “KL Rahul is going for a surgery and hopefully he should be back. Would've liked two points but I guess we were about 10 short on that wicket. And the kind of powerplay they had we really had to scrap and fight. One batsman has to bat through, that was my plan. It was my day, I took that responsibility,” Agarwal said at the post-match presentation ceremony. Punjab Kings didn’t get enough runs in the death overs and Mayank rued the fact stating that he would have cherished two points more than the 99. He also lauded Harpreet Brar wh0 followed his match-wimning spell against RCB with a wicket of his first delivery. “Unfortunately we didn't get too many in the middle overs, even though we finished well. Would have loved two points more than anything else. But it is what it is. We have to shut this off, turn up next game and do better. Managing the ups and downs is what captaincy's all about. Kudos to Harpreet who showed up for us today and last game as well, he also hit a crucial boundary. We need to keep at it and click as a team,” Rahul said. Voice of Cricket, Harsha Bhogle hailed Mayank Agarwal earlier in the day after his special knock of an unbeaten 99. He looked in sensational touch and Bhogle said that in the context of the gamem the 99 was much more than a century. He also lauded Shikhar Dhawan for his match-winning knock. Remaining unbeaten on 69 of 47 deliveries, Dhawan delivered the killer punch for his franchise. Renowned journalist Ayaz Menon rued the fact that despite the brilliance of Mayank Agarwal, Punjab Kings had to end on the losing side. Following the completion of his knock, Menon had lauded him for taking his side to a competitive score. Senior Executive Director of Aaj Tak Vikrant Gupta criticised Punjab Kings’s decision to open with Prabhsimran Singh despite having the No 1 T20I batsman in the world Dawid Malan in their ranks.