Rajapaksa, Hasaranga, Chameera & Theekshana bring Sri Lankan flavor back to IPL

Indian Premier League 2022

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The Sri Lankan players featuring in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) have put on some impressive performances with bat and ball so far.

Six Sri Lankans were picked to play this year’s IPL namely Wanindu Hasaranga (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Dushmantha Chameera (Lucknow Super Giants), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Punjab Kings), Maheesh Theekshana (Chennai Super Kings), Chamika Karunaratne (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Matheesha Pathirana (Chennai Super Kings).

Halfway through the league stage, Sri Lankan ace spinner Hasaranga has managed to take 11 wickets in 8 matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and sits in 7th place on the wicket-takers list.

Sri Lankan off spinner Theekshana who got called in to the Chennai Super Kings playing XI after their first 3 matches, has been a consistent performer for them since then and has bagged 8 wickets in 5 matches played so far.

Sri Lankan southpaw Rajapaksa has also managed to showcase some impressive performances with the bat for Punjab Kings. Having played 4 matches so far, he has made 125 runs at 31.25 with an impressive strike rate of 183.82.

Chameera, the Sri Lankan pace spearhead has had an inconsistent debut season for Lucknow Super Giants, where he has picked up 5 wickets in 6 matches at 37.20. He has managed to crank up the pace over 145 kmph consistently and won the award for the fastest delivery of the match several times this season.

Though four Sri Lankans had already played several games so far in this year’s IPL, all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne is yet to make his debut for Kolkata Knight Riders. With KKR’s iconic all-rounder Andre Russell making headlines with some impressive performances with bat and ball, it will be not easy for the Sri Lankan all-rounder to find a place in the KKR playing XI.

Young seamer Pathirana is the latest Sri Lankan signing in this year’s IPL as he was bought by Chennai Super Kings for INR 20 lakhs as a replacement for injured Kiwi pacer Adam Milne 5 days ago. The 19-year old Pathirana who has arrived in India to join his franchise will be available for selection from tomorrow (26th April) onwards