Bhanuka Rajapaksha retires from all forms of international cricket with immediate effect

In another sudden announcement, Sri Lankan batter, Bhanuka Rajapaksa has stepped down from all forms of international cricket. It came within a week of Quinton de Kock’s retirement from the longest format of the sport.

He penned a letter to Sri Lankan cricket, citing familial obligations as his reason to step down from the international roster.

He wrote in his letter, “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 was Sri Lanka’s leading run-scorer in 2010 Under 19 World Cup. He made his T20 debut against Pakistan in 2019. The ODI debut came last year against India.

There were already a lot of troubles for Rajapaksa after the batter was vocal against the selection policies of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He was left out of the squad for a while due to fitness concerns and was also given a one-year ban after the storm of controversies that engulfed him.

He returned to the shortest format of the game in the last year’s T20 World Cup. He powered a match-winning half-century against Bangladesh in the Super 12 group stage.

As Rajapaksa bade adieu to the sport, he had 5 ODIs and 18 T20Is under his belt. This has been an alarming trend in the roster of international cricket with cricketers stepping down prematurely.

Bubble fatigue may be a primary reason for the sudden dropouts but at the end of the day, the sport is suffering the brunt of irreparable loss.