Sri Lanka’s star and limited-overs batsman Kusal Perera is confident that he can be fit for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in England & Wales, which starts on 30th May.
In an interview with BBC Sinhala, Perera spoke on his keenness to take part in the 10-team mega event, in the event he gets selected in the final Sri Lankan squad.
The 28-year old left-hander is currently out of cricket due to a hamstring injury, – his third major leg injury, which he picked up in South Africa.
“I didn’t think much about the World Cup when the injury happened although it was then believed that I’ll miss the World Cup’’ Perera said on his desire to represent the country in the world’s biggest competition in limited-overs cricket. All I wanted was to recover as soon as possible and be fit to play again. Selecting or not selecting me for the squad is up to the selectors. I’m ready to play if I get picked.”
Before getting injured, Perera smashed a surreal 153* to single-handedly win the first Test for Sri Lanka against the Proteas in Durban, the same venue in which he got his latest injury.
Perera has always been consistent with his injuries in the past few years, which has not helped his cause in playing all three formats for Sri Lanka continuously.
Read : The greatest innings of all time?
Speaking further, he was happy with the recovery as it was faster than he expected and also said that rehabilitation started three weeks ago. He is also confident about getting back to his usual workouts from next week and would be able to start batting again within the next 2-3 weeks.
“I’ve sustained injuries quite often. When working with physio’s and trainers, no major fitness issues were found. Being injured during a match happens involuntarily and cannot be predicted.” Perera spoke about his continuous injury issues. “Match injuries doesn’t depend on being fit or not being fit, anything can happen during a match because we are willing to do anything without really caring about our bodies. So, it’s very unlucky on my part to get injured so regularly. Anyway, I will just keep working and try to minimize injuries as much as possible.”
Finally, he expressed his belief on the under-performing Sri Lankan limited overs outfit to do well in the World Cup and said that they could change things around if they develop their personal performances. Since nothing big is expected from them, he thinks that they can deliver the unexpected.
The cut-off date given by the ICC to name final squads of all participating countries for the World Cup, is the 23rd of April. With that in mind, the national selectors are currently finalizing the Sri Lanka squad with the help of the performances in the ongoing SLC Super Provincial Tournament.
Read More : Dear Sri Lanka, please stand up!
