On Wednesday, another one of Sri Lanka’s veteran pacers, Nuwan Kulasekara announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, according to local media reports. After Lasith Malinga confirmed that the first encounter against Bangladesh on July 26 will be his last ODI match, Kulasekara becomes the latest to bring an end to his career in the same week.
The 37-year-old was not included in the the Sri Lankan squad for the recently-concluded Cricket World Cup, with his last senior team appearance coming way back in 2017. He made his ODI debut against England at home in 2003 and his Test debut in 2005.
Kulasekara has played in 185 ODIs for Sri Lanka, picking up 199 wickets in the process with an admirable economy of 4.90. As for his T20 career, he picked up 66 wickets from the 58 matches he was a part of, with the crowning moment coming in 2014 when the Lankan Lions clinched the T20 World Cup title. His Test career, however, wasn’t up to the mark as he featured in only 21 matches before quitting from the longest format of the game in 2016.
The former Sri Lankan pacer also rose to the Number 1 spot in the ‘ICC ODI Bowler’s Rankings’ in 2008, a feat he achieved in just a year after making his World Cup debut for his nation. Hence, after a career spanning 16 years, Kulasekara draws curtains with a T20 World Cup winners medal and two runners-up medals, picked up in the 2007 and 2011 edition of the World Cup, in his trophy cabinet.
Feature photo courtesy: AFP Photo / Marty Melville
