Sri Lanka’s aggressive opener Danushka Gunathilaka has decided to quit the red ball format.
The 30-year-old has stated the reason behind his retirement. He wants to focus on the white ball format and therefore he bids adieu to test cricket.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board on Saturday said that he “will now be focusing on the shorter formats”.
Recently, another 30-year-old cricketer Bhanuka Rajapaksa has announced his retirement from all formats of the game. The decision came a day after the board lifted a one-year suspension on Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella.
The trio received a one-year ban after breaching the bio-secure bubble during their tour to England. The ban also included a six-month suspension from domestic cricket and also a fine of almost 50k USD.
Since making his international debut in 2015, Gunathilaka has had some disciplinary issues with a total of three suspensions in the past.
Gunathilaka has not played a test since December 2018. The 30-year-old only has eight appearances to his name in which he has scored 299 runs which includes two half centuries and a career best of 61. The 30-year-old has got a much better record in white ball cricket. In 44 One Day Internationals, he has slammed 1520 runs at an average of 36.19.
While in the shortest format of the game he has scored 568 runs in 30 games at a strike rate of 121.62.