Bhanuka Rajapaksa is part of the new and exciting crop of Sri Lankan batters.
Leading in LPL with distinction
Bhanuka Rajapaksa leads the Galle Gladiators in the Lanka Premier League and has done a fine job for them both as captain and as a batter over the last couple of seasons.
In 2021, Galle Gladiators made it to the final of the competition but lost to Jaffna Kings.
Rajapaksa played a couple of fine knocks in the 2021 T20 world cup and is beginning to come of age as a batter. He has been doing well for his franchise in the Lanka Premier League as well and looks a really good prospect for the national side.
Appreciation where due He has a lot of appreciation for Mohammad Amir, who was part of his franchise, and feels that the Pakistan pacer has brought a lot to the table and has helped the youngsters pick up a lot of valuable information.
"When Amir was doing well in the early matches, he didn't have a lot of new-ball support. He talked to me and said, 'Bhanu, while I'm trying to get wickets I also have to bowl dot balls.' But he's been very good with everyone and he shared his experience. I hear what Amir talks about with the younger players, and he makes a lot of valid points. I think a lot of our recent success in the powerplay is down to that. He's told our young bowlers how to seam the ball - things they don't know. He helps them in pressure situations as well. For a lot of us this is our first time playing in a tournament like this."
"What he does now is he gets us wickets with the new ball, and he can bowl for wickets because we now also have DhananjayaLakshan and Nuwan Thushara. Our seam attack is better than everyone else's. "Amir was bowling well with the new ball, but he didn't have a lot of support. And when Lakshan Sandakan, DhananjayaLakshan and Amir also get wickets through the middle overs, it's easy for a captain. Two of them anyway are senior bowlers (Amir and Sandakan). Them doing well allows us to play with one fewer bowler and cover the difference with part-timers."
Unfortunately for Bhanuka Rajapaksa, his team missed out on the LPL 2021 trophy by a small margin.
