After Isuru Udana several other Sri Lankan cricketers are looking to retire from international cricket ahead of the upcoming South Africa series, Sri Lankan cricket is in a turmoil phase currently which is triggered by pay disputes between the board and the cricketers. Senior players like Angelo Mathews and Dimuth Karunaratne did not find the grading system logical and thus pulled out from national commitments. Udana’s early retirement has now exposed the internal problems between the boards and its players.
A report by Island cricket says that more Sri Lankan cricketers might retire ahead of the team’s next international assignment. Sri Lanka’s next assignment is a white-ball series against South Africa at home. The tour comprises three ODIs and as many T20Is, starting from September 2. The hosts would certainly like to extend their winning run but upsetting the Proteas side would take some beating.
Sri Lankan Cricketers To Retire Ahead Of South Africa Series
More #SriLanka cricketers to retire – report https://t.co/QDR5EOcP1h
— Island Cricket (@IslandCricket) August 2, 2021
The Lankan side lost an ODI series against India recently but pulled back in the T20Is to beat the Men in Blue in the series 2-1. Meanwhile, Udana’s retirement was the second by a regular Sri Lankan cricketer after Thisara Perera earlier announced his international retirement in May this year.
The gulf between the board and the players are clearly on show after Udana’s retirement. The senior members of the national squad, in both red and white ball formats, were seen being overlooked by the new panel of selectors under Pramodya Wickramasinghe. The likes of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, and Nuwan Pradeep were overlooked across all formats which made the players unsure about their immediate international future.
While Udana will continue to play his trade in franchise T20 cricket, his retirement has exposed the long-standing problems between the players and the board. Sri Lanka will need to qualify for the next T20 World Cup to be played in the UAE later this year. They will be playing the qualifying rounds in order to get through to the round of 12. The Lankan side were the winners of the T20 World Cup 2014 held in Bangladesh.
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