Thisara Perera

At the mere age of 32, Thisara Perera decided to hang up his boots and retired from the highest level. A white-ball stalwart Perera has it all that one would need to become the greatest of the generation. His attacking prowess was mostly used as a finisher, and his 

The Colombo-born initially began as a seamer and opened the bowling for Sri Lanka during the 2008 Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia. The following year, he received his maiden call-up into the national squad as an emergency replacement for Angelo Mathews during the tour of India. Perera didn’t take too long to showcase his skills. In his third game, he performed well with both bat and ball to register a famous win over Indians in the Tri-Nation Tournament, held in Dhaka. 

Perera made his Test debut in 2011, on the tour of England where the allrounder opened the bowling for Sri Lanka in the Cardiff Test. In the following test, at Southampton, he picked his maiden Test wicket in the form of Kevin Pietersen and then scalped Matt Prior.  

After cementing himself in a side full of legends, Perera’s peak came in 2014. He played the innings of his life against Bangladesh in a counter-attacking mode that uplift his side to 180 from 67-8, which eventually helped Sri Lanka register a 13-run win. A couple of months later, the allrounder was dropped from the side on disciplinary grounds but answered back in the following ODI series against Pakistan. He struck the ball at a strike rate of 169.56, apart from claiming nine wickets at an average of 10.66. Perera was also part of the title-winning team that lifted a World Cup after 18 years, in 2014.  

After his magnificent all-round show, he was picked by the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings in 2010, before having subtle stints with Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Mumbai Indians. The allrounder was also part of Hyderabad, Punjab, and Rising Pune Supergiants. Over the years, he has also played for various other franchise leagues, such as PSL, CPL, T20 Blast, BPL, and BBL. 

After the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, the allrounder was also given the captaincy role during his team’s transition time. He led Sri Lanka in the white-ball formats - in 12 T20Is between 2017 and 2018. However, his bowling form dipped due to fitness issues. The dasher registered his highest score of 140 runs against New Zealand Down Under in 2019. As Perera’s body grew older, his bowling muscles deteriorated and he lost his sharp skills as a bowler, which also led to his retirement. At 32, the Sri Lankan retired from the international form of the game, to concentrate on professional leagues. 

(As of May 2021)