Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa said his experience of playing IPL 2022, where he impressed while representing Punjab Kings, will create a lot of positivity within the national side ahead of their Asia Cup opener against Afghanistan on Saturday.
Playing for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2022, the left-handed Rajapaksa exhibited his power-hitting skills through a couple of aggressive knocks. Rajapaksa, 30, played nine games for the Punjab Kings, scoring 206 runs at a high strike rate of 159.68.He now has a contract with Dubai Capitals in UAE’s upcoming ILT20 competition early next year. UAE is also the country where Rajapaksa hit 53 off 31 balls in a Super 10 match against Bangladesh in last ‘ear’s’Men’s T20 World Cup, which fetched Sri Lanka a five-wicket victory.
“Coming back to the Sri Lankan side, I have brought in a lot of positivity after speaking to a lot of the IPL players, like Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal and K.G (Kagiso Rabada). I don’t think I have the time to explain in detail the talks we had, but there were a lot of positive vibes. I’m hoping we can take that same brand of cricket to the world,” Rajapaksa was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
He further revealed about a chat he had with hard-hitting England batter Liam Livingstone in his IPL stint earlier this year, which had an impact on him. “For me, the experience I bring after playing in the IPL will create good energy for the side. One of the best chats I had with Liam (Livingstone) was when he said, ‘If it’s in the V, make sure the ball is in the trees’. He’d just be that aggressive. Proper slam-bang player.”
Sri Lanka is the second-most successful side in the Asia Cup title, winning the trophy five times after India’s seven title wins. But their last Asia Cup victory came in Bangladesh in 2014. They will be hoping that a win against Afghanistan to open the Asia Cup 2022 in T20I format will lead them to their sixth title.
