Lasith Malinga Advises Bhanuka Rajapaksa To Reconsider Retirement Decision

Batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa on Wednesday sent a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), announcing his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, citing family obligations.

Rajapaksa made his T20I debut on October 5, 2019 in the tour of Pakistan. His ODI career lasted less than six months as he had made his debut in July 2021.

"I have very carefully considered my position as a player, husband and am taking this decision looking forward to fatherhood and associated familial obligations," Rajapaksa wrote in his resignation letter.

Notably, Rajapaksa got into trouble for criticising selection policies in an interview after being left out for fitness concerns and was handed a suspended one-year ban. He returned to feature in last year's T20 World Cup, where he scored a match-winning half-century against Bangladesh in the Super 12 stage.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga has urged his fellow countryman to reconsider the retirement decision.

"Representing your country at International level is not an easy task and players always face so many challenges. I truly believe that @BhanukaRajapak3 has a lot more to give to Sri Lankan cricket and I request him to reconsider his decision to retire from International cricket," Malinga wrote on Twitter.

The left-handed batsman has played 5 ODIs and 18 T20Is for Sri Lanka. He has scored 89 and 320 runs at an average of 17.80 and 26.66 respectively.