In the third match of the IPL 2022, Punjab Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets. Bhanuka Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka scored 43 runs off 22 balls, including two fours and four sixes. His quick-fire innings helped his team win a nail-biting match.
Sri Lanka fitness standards:
Sri Lanka Cricket amended fitness tests for national cricketers to improve their current fitness levels. Sri Lanka Cricket introduced a 2Km test in early 2021.
It was replaced in 2022 by the Yo-Yo test to determine the fitness and endurance levels of the players. The test’s benchmark was 8.35 minutes, which was increased to 8.55 minutes after a request from the Cricket Technical Advisory Committee.
In addition, the cricket administration has reduced the skinfold test levels from 85 to 70. Every month, the players will be randomly tested to see if they are working to maintain their fitness.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa announced his retirement:
Bhanuka Rajapaksa informed the Sri Lanka Cricket board of his decision to retire from international cricket on January 3, citing tougher fitness benchmarks set by the national selection committee.
Rajapaksa has taken his retirement back:
After 10 days of announcing his retirement from international cricket, Bhanuka Rajapaksa changed his mind and withdrew his decision to retire from international cricket on January 13.
Former Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga wrote on his Twitter account and requested him to reconsider his decision.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa was dropped from the T20I squad by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and was set to travel to India. He was in the bio bubble to travel to India, but he didn’t travel to India. He was dropped from the squad due to his lack of fitness.
Opportunity in IPL:
At a base price of INR 50 lakh, the Punjab Kings picked Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the IPL 2022 mega auction. Five Sri Lankan cricketers were picked for the IPL 2022. Rajapaksa is the only batter to be picked as he was purchased by the Punjab Kings.
Match-winning performance in the IPL:
Bhanuka Rajapaksa played a match-winning performance against RCB in their Tata IPL 2022 opening game. Chasing 206 runs, Mayank and Shikhar put up 71 runs in 7 overs.
Rajapaksa smashed 43 runs off just 22 balls, with 2 fours and 4 sixes, as he came to the crease in the 8th over after Mayank’s dismissal. With his performance, he changed the momentum in his team’s favour. Punjab won by five wickets against RCB in their first match of IPL 2022.
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