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Lions in IPL: A Breakdown

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Sri Lankans in IPL 2022

Lions in IPL: A Breakdown 

Five Lankan Lions in IPL 2022!

Hurray! There are 5 Sri Lankans in IPL this year, a huge improvement from last year’s only 2 players. Something all Sri Lankan cricket fans could be happy with. Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa are the proud Lankan lion who will feature in IPL 2022. 2 bowlers, 2 all-rounders, and 1 batsman for a total of 14.45 cores INR are what these five players from the island racked up in a total combined value. Okay, enough talking number, let’s get to the breakdown but before I start which of these players do you think will have an exceptional IPL season?

Let’s start with Bhanuka Rajapaksa, the only specialty Sri Lankan batsman in the tournament. Now for those who have followed Bhanuka will know that he has had his fair share of fitness issues and even retired but unretired soon after. Asides from all the off-the-field issues, Bhanuka is a very distractive batsman who can easily take the game away from the opposition on his day. 50 Lakhs IRN (- et al., 2022) is what Punjab Kings brought Bhanuka for, now it’s not a huge amount, so one has to wonder whether he will make the starting 11 consistently across the tournament but it will sure be interesting to see how he’ll perform when he makes the 11. What do you think? Will Bhanuka have a memorable IPL? Or will everything he has been through in the recent months affect his performance?

Now, let’s move on to Maheesh Theekshana, the right arm offbreak spinner. We all know that he is a mystery spinner with a mean carrom ball. However, there is more to Theekshana than just a mean carrom ball, he is comfortable to ball in the powerplay which will be a huge advantage to his team asides from this he is also very economical another curtail advantage to his team. CSK’s purchase of Theekshana for 70 Lakhs IRN (- et al., 2022) has been a little controversial, those who know politics between Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu will understand what I mean. Will politics play spoilsports for Theehshana’s first IPL season? Let’s hope not!

Next up we have the passionate former Royal Collage and Sri Lankan Under-19 captain Chamika Karnuratne (Chamika Karunaratne ). Chamika of course comes from a sporting family and plays cricket with his heart on his sleeves. He is a useful all-rounder, a canny bowler, and a clever batsman. His 50 Lakhs IRN (- et al., 2022) purchase price by KKR does suggest that he might not be a first-choice starting 11 but I’m sure he will definitely get some matches to prove his worth. So will Chamika play with the same passion he has when playing for the national side with the Knight  Riders? 

Now let’s talk about the big guns starting off with Sri Lankan’s bowling spearhead Dushmantha Chameera. This will be Chameera’s 2nd IPL season and he’ll be hoping that this one will be better than his last season with RCB. Of course, Chameera was brought by the Rajasthan Royals in 2018 but didn’t get to play a single match because of a back injury and was ruled out of the season (Agarwal, 2018) so we will not count that in. Chameera is now 30 years old but don’t let the age fool you, this 6 foot, tall, slim, fast bowler is just reaching his prime (Dushmantha Chameera ). He is smart, he can read the game well, and will vary his variations accordingly to the match situation. His 2 Crore IRN (- et al., 2022) bid by Lucknow Super Giants does suggest Chammera being the first choice starting 11 pick. Will this ever-improving bowler have a successful IPL season or will the horrors of last year come back to haunt him?

Finally, we have the 10.75 Crore IRN (USD estimate 1.4 million) (- et al., 2022) sensation Wanindu Hasaranga. He too had an unforgettable IPL season last year with the Royal Challengers but nonetheless, this street smart cricketer has improved a lot since the last IPL season. He is now the world’s number 1 T20I bowler. A very useful all-rounder both with bat and ball and a gun like fielder. Wanindu is the perfect all-around T20 package and no wonder why RCB wanted his so desperately. Sold for 10.75 Crore IRN (- et al., 2022) definitely means Wanindu will most probably play in most or if not every single game RCB plays. So, will this street smart cricketer avenge his first IPL season with an exceptional one this year? Well, I am sure the RCB management and fans will be hoping for nothing less. 

So, who among these 5 players do you think will make Sri Lanka proud? Comment below. 

Reference:

Agarwal, W. (2018, April 21). Breaking: Rajasthan royals overseas star ruled out of IPL 2018 for 3 Weeks. The SportsRush. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://thesportsrush.com/rajasthan-royals-dushmanth-chameera-ruled-out-of-ipl-2018/

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