Punjab Kings' Bhanuka Rajapaksa is the relative of former Sri Lanka president and faced skinfolds issue in selection for his national team.
Follow Us
Sri Lanka wicket-keeper batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa, fetched at his base price of INR 50 lakh by Punjab Kings, has been a steal deal for the franchise in the IPL 2022 and has become an asset for their future development.
Rajapaksa has registered scores of 42. 9, 31, 43 in his first four appearances for Punjab Kings, accumulating 125 runs at a decent average of 31.25, which is certain to be taken into account for his national team selection for the limited-overs.
The 30-year-old has featured in five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 18 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) before reversing his decision to retire from international cricket, six months after his ODI debut.
So despite his power-hitting prowess what has kept him out of the national team one would ask.
READ MORE: Rishi Dhawan: Why did the all-rounder wear a face shield?
It is quite certain that a reference from the government can go a long way in shaping up a career. But this was not the case for Rajapaksa. Even though he is a relative of former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapakse, he had to wait for ten long years to make his debut for the national team.
Mahinda, incidentally, was the Sri Lankan president from 2005 to 2015. He fell to an unexpected defeat in the 2015 Presidential Election and was accused of authoritarianism, corruption, nepotism and bad governance.
The left-handed hard hitting batter was left out from a number of series due to the determination of skinfold level which did not work in his favour.
As per the rules implemented by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), a 2 km test was introduced to determine the fitness and endurance levels of the players. It will need a player to run the distance in 8.35 minutes to be considered for selection with the required skinfold level reduced to 70 from 85 which is a must for all the players.
Rajapaksa is currently among the top Sri Lankan limited-overs players available for selection and his run in the IPL 2022 only makes him a more valuable asset.
It, however, remains to be seen if his national team selection continues to be a problem due his skinfold level or if he achieves the minimum requirement to prolong his career for the national team.
