SL seamer Nuwan Kulasekara retires from international cricket

Sri Lanka seamer Nuwan Kulasekara has retired from international cricket with immediate effect. Known for his ability to swing the new ball both ways, the 37-year old exits as Sri Lanka’s third-highest ODI wicket-taker among seamers, behind Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, with 199 scalps in 184 matches. Kulasekara is also the joint second-highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in T20Is, with 66 wickets in 58 matches, behind Malinga on the list.

Kulasekara last represented Sri Lanka in an ODI against Zimbabwe in Hambantota in July 2017 and hasn’t played a competitive game since March 2018.

He impressed immediately on ODI debut against England in 2003 and forged a strong partnership with Malinga, who confirmed his ODI retirement on Tuesday. 

In addition to swinging and seaming the new ball, Kulasekara was adept at bowling reverse-swinging yorkers with the old ball. This skill came to the fore during Sri Lanka’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in 2014, when Kulasekara took eight wickets in six matches at an outstanding economy rate of 6.42. In the final against India, in Dhaka, Kulasekara bowled 10 dots and had returns of 1 for 29 in his four overs. This followed his performance against Netherlands in the group stages of the tournament, where he returned stellar figures of 2-2-0-1.

In ODIs, Kulasekara was ranked as the No.1 bowler in March 2009 and nearly four years later, he took career-best ODI figures of 5 for 22 against Australia in Brisbane. Kulasekara, though, wasn’t as effective in Tests and ended with 48 wickets in 21 games, the last of which came in 2014 at Lord’s, where Sri Lanka clung on for a thrilling draw. –ICC

This skill came to the fore during Sri Lanka’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign in 2014, when Kulasekara took eight wickets in six matches at an outstanding economy rate of 6.42