Kusal Perera, who was last seen in action during the LPL last year and missed a lot of international cricket due to a shoulder injury, has finally undergone surgery in the United Kingdom yesterday (01).
When you look at Sri Lanka’s current batting order, there’s a certain name which a lot of people miss. That is the explosive opening batsman Kusal Janith Perera or simply KJP. Perera who first rose to the scene as someone who had a very similar batting style to Sri Lanka’s ultimate legend Sanath Jayasuriya, quickly made a name for himself as someone who can destroy any top class bowling line up on his day. Not only in the white ball format, he also showed his capability in red ball cricket after the unbeaten 153 run knock against South Africa which is regarded as one of the best test knocks of all time.
But unfortunately for him and for Sri Lanka Cricket, 2021 was not a very good year for Perera. He was named Sri Lanka’s white ball skipper for the tours of Bangladesh & England last year but lost captaincy due to some poor team results. But the real problems started after that as he suffered a shoulder injury ahead of the limited over series against India at home and then tested positive for COVID-19 just before the limited over series against South Africa, Although he returned for the T20I series against the Proteas, it was quite evident that he was in discomfort.
Even with a shoulder injury, Perera opted to go with the Sri Lankan team and played all the 8 matches as the opening batter and wicketkeeper during the World Cup. He also played the 2nd edition of LPL after that and sources close to him stated that Perera took painkillers and injections nearly every day during the World Cup & LPL. The LPL was the last time Perera was seen in action as the shoulder injury worsened to a stage which needed surgery.
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Fast forward to July 2022, news broke out that Sri Lanka Cricket has refused to bear the cost of Perera’s surgery. This matter which became a talking point especially on social media and escalated quickly as Sri Lanka Cricket released a statement explaining their side of the story.
“Sri Lanka Cricket in consultation with the SLC Medical Panel worked out a 12-week Rehabilitation Program for Kusal Janith Perera’s recovery from a long-standing shoulder injury to ensure that the player is ready for selections for the T20I Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Towards meeting this goal, Sri Lanka Cricket advised Kusal Janith Perera to refrain from playing any competitive cricket and undergo the proposed ‘Rehabilitation Program,’ under the supervision of the SLC Medical panel. The SLC also advised the player that postponing the rehabilitation program may negatively affect his injury,”, the SLC said in a release.
According to the SLC, instead of following the advice of Sri Lanka Cricket, Perera participated in the LPL using injections and pain killers which was a clear blow to his planned recovery program. However, SLC later announced that they will be bearing a major portion of Perera’s surgery.
So, after months of delay and tension, Kusal Perera departed to the UK and he successfully underwent surgery on the 01st of September. There is no exact timeline at the moment regarding his recovery process and he will most likely miss out the T20 World Cup in Australia next month. But with the 50 over World Cup coming next year, SLC will be hoping that KJP can come into action very soon and play competitive cricket to gear up for International Cricket once again.
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