Sri Lanka star allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga drops shocking retirement announcement

Star Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga announced his retirement from the longest format of the game on Tuesday at the age of 26, further demonstrating the fact that Test cricket is no longer the only desired format for all aspiring cricketers around the world. Wanindu Hasaranga, an all-rounder for the Sri Lankan men’s team, has told Sri Lanka Cricket that he will no longer play test cricket. In explaining his choice, Hasaranga stated that he was doing it to further his career as a limited-overs specialist, according to a release from Sri Lanka Cricket. On the surface, Hasaranga’s choice could seem unexpected, but closer examination will likely reveal something else.

Hasaranga has excelled in white-ball cricket and is currently ranked third among T20I bowlers, but he hasn’t exactly been able to make the same effect in Test cricket. Even though four Test matches is never a sufficient sample size to determine a cricketer’s caliber, Sri Lanka team dropped him from red-ball cricket for more than two years thanks to his four wickets at an average of 100.75. In April 2021, he played in his final Test at home against Bangladesh. The star Sri Lankan all rounder participated in various Test preparation camps, but in the past two years, he was never selected for the starting lineup.

Sri Lanka does not plan to play Hasaranga in Test matches

At least for the time being, it was very clear that Hasaranga was not in Sri Lanka’s red-ball plans, but the leg-spinner, who is also a useful hitter down the order, still had plenty of time to change that. The fact that he decided against going down that path and instead chose to concentrate more on his white-ball career says a lot about how aspiring cricketers think, particularly those who desire to play in various T20 competitions.

It is only because the star off spinner was chosen for a training camp for Test cricketers, Hasaranga, a regular player for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, was forced to withdraw from the Major League Cricket in the USA. Like many other cricketers, including England’s Moeen Ali, he made the decision to give up Test cricket in order to play in T20 tournaments that take place all over the world throughout the year. The fact that SLC did not interfere, as they did with Thisara Perera’s announcement of his early retirement, was another sign that boards have embraced the changing nature of cricket. “We will accept his decision and are confident that Hasaranga will be a vital part of our white-ball program going forward,” told Ashley De Silva the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket.