As Bhanuka Rajapaksa announces shock retirement, Malinga urges batter to reconsider call

Sri Lankan batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa announced his retirement from international cricket on Wednesday. The 30-year-old cited family obligations as a reason to take premature retirement from international cricket. After Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed Rajapaksa's retirement, former bowler Lasith Malinga took to social media to request the player to reconsider his decision.

Malinga said in his tweet that he believes Rajapaksa has a lot more to give to Sri Lankan cricket, adding "I request him to reconsider his decision to retire from international cricket."

"Representing your country at international level is not an easy task and players always face so many challenges. I truly believe that @BhanukaRajapak3 has a lot more to give to Sri Lankan cricket and I request him to reconsider his decision to retire from international cricket," Malinga wrote on Twitter. 

'I've carefully considered my position as a player'

Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday stated that Rajapaksa informed of his retirement in a letter to the board, where he said the decision to resign was taken after considering his family obligations.

"I have very carefully considered my position as a player, husband and am taking this decision looking forward to fatherhood and associated familial obligations," Rajapaksa was quoted as saying in his resignation letter to SLC.

While Rajapaksa has cited family duties as a reason for his surprising decision, some speculate that the Sri Lankan board's stricter fitness requirements may have played a role. Rajapaksa was left out of the national team owing to fitness concerns, and the Sri Lankan cricket board also reprimanded him for criticising his exclusion in an interview.

Despite the fact that Rajapaksa was re-inducted into the team after addressing fitness concerns, his feud with the cricket board and head coach Micky Arthur is said to have never been settled.

Rajapaksa first rose to fame in 2010 after he became Sri Lanka's highest run-scorer in that year's ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Rajapaksa received his maiden international cap for Sri Lanka in 2019 during a T20I series against Pakistan. He made his ODI debut against India earlier last year during the Men in Blue's white-ball tour of the island nation in July. Rajapaksa has played 18 T20Is and 5 ODI matches for his country.

Image: Twitter/OfficialSLC/AP