Veteran Sri Lanka pacer Nuwan Kulasekara has announced retirement from international cricket with immediate effect. On Wednesday, local media reports in Sri Lanka have confirmed it. A few days ago, experienced paceman Lasith Maliga, too, called time on his career- the 1st ODI against Bangladesh will be his final ODI game.
Kulasekara was not part of the Lankan squad for the 2019 World Cup. He last turned out for his national side in 2017. The cricketer didn”t play top-tier competitive games since March last year.
The art of swinging the ball both ways
Kulasekara”s consistency and ability to swing the ball both ways made him a threat for the opposition. He was equally good at the death overs. The pacer made his debut against England in 2003 at the age of 21, and went on to make Test debut against New Zealand in 2005.
Kulasekara in numbers
The soft-spoke cricketer has represented Sri Lanka in 184 ODIs, picking a total of 199 wickets at an impressive economy of 4.90. He has scalped 66 wickets from 58 T20Is. The highlight of his career would probably be lifting the World T20 in 2014. The Lankans beat a strong Indian side to lift the Cup. He scalped the wicket of Yuvraj Singh in the finals and conceded mere 29 runs in his allotted quota of four overs.
A success story in limited-overs cricket
The paceman will leave the international arena as the third most successful pacer for Sri Lanka in ODIs- just behind Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga. He was ranked as the no, 1 bowler in ODIs back in 2009. In Tests, the seamer has scalped 48 wickets from 21 games.
Sri Lanka will host a spirited Bangladesh side in a three-match ODI series. The first ODI will be played on July 26, followed by the next one on 28th. The final game will be played on 31st July.