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We salute you, Suranga Lakmal

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OMOzIEzeHw6mJGEhikb9ue67w8cmhRhZWx7ER7X0lAg/edit#

Shazeen Ifamy

SI Cricket Talks

We salute you, Suranga Lakmal

Suranga Lakmal was a player who minded his own business, there was never any drama with him on or off the field. He would turn up to the ground, bowl his assigned quota of overs and then do what he needs to do for the team. Simply put Lakmal was a team player. 

Moving on Lakaml doesn’t have the stats to rank up among the likes of James Anderson or Dale Steyn nor is he a household name within Sri Lanka, unlike Vaas and Malinga. Nevertheless, Lakmal would selflessly do the hardyards to help his fellow teammates whether it is to get the ball old quickly or if it is to control the scoring rate.  However, Lakmal’s greatest skill was his control, he would bowl tight economic overs again and again from one end to build pressure so the spinners can take wickets. Personally, I’ve never seen Vaas and Murali bowl together but I have seen Lakmal and Herath bowl together and it was a treat to watch

Furthermore, Lakmal isn’t one for glory spells nor does he have a lot of them. He was a simple bowler who just loved to bowl a tight economic line over and over. He shined when Sri Lankan toured to seem friendly nations and worked silently when Sri Lankan played at home. Hence Suranga Lakmal’s stats (Suranga Lakmal ) don’t actually show how good of a bowler he is, judging him by his stats would be like judging a book by its cover. He is unarguably a far better bowler than what his stats suggest.

In conclusion, Lakmal was a great servant of Sri Lankan cricket over the years, he played during both joyful and hard times. He bowled his heart out for his country no matter the situation. Lakaml gave everything to his country and to the team. Sri Lankan cricket and its fans will surely miss him. All we can do is wish him good luck in his post-retirement career. 

PS. My favorite moment of Lamkal Aiya was when he defended 8 runs against South Africa back in 2017. 

Comment below your favorite moment or memory of Suranga Lakmal.    

 Reference:

                                                                    

 

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