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Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa was a surprise in the 2022 Indian Premier League and wants to continue playing the same brand of cricket at the Asia Cup beginning on Saturday. Picked up by the Punjab Kings, Bhanuka Rajapaksa showcased his power-hitting ability and had some impressive knocks under his belt.
The 30-year-old batter played nine games for the Kings, scoring 206 runs at a strike rate of 159.68. Talking about this experience in terms of international cricket and the upcoming Asia Cup, he said, "For me, the experience I bring after playing in the IPL will create good energy for the side. One of the best chats I had with Liam (Livingstone) was when he said, ‘If it’s in the V, make sure the ball is in the trees’. He’d just be that aggressive. Proper slam-bang player.”
“Coming back to the Sri Lankan side, I have brought in a lot of positivity after speaking to a lot of the IPL players, like Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal and KG [Kagiso Rabada]. I don't think I have the time to explain in detail the talks we had, but there were a lot of positive vibes. I'm hoping we can take that same brand of cricket to the world,” he added.
Now talking about the Asia Cup, Sri Lanka’s coach Chris Silverwood is excited about the tournament as he believes that the team is ready to learn and move forward. He said, "My experience with Sri Lanka has been excellent. I've found the guys are open-minded and willing to learn. They want to learn and want to move forward. From a coaching perspective, I couldn't have asked for anything more from the team.”
He further talked about how he wanted to play the tournament in Sri Lanka but still, the team is ready and willing to compete and win in the UAE. he said, "It would've been lovely to play [the Asia Cup] in Sri Lanka, but unfortunately it's not happening there. We've embraced the fact that we have to play it here [in UAE]. Our mindset is very much focused on what we need to do to compete and be successful in the UAE. A lot of the guys have the experience of playing here anyway, so we will use that. We're here to do our best to win the tournament."
