At one point, Kusal Perera, Sri Lanka’s dashing left-handed batter, was destined for greatness! However, lack of commitment, an alleged Rebellion against the cricket board and series of Injuries prevented him from justifying his immense talent. Now, at 31, his career seems all but over, especially with the emergence of plenty of young batting prodigies like Avishka Fernando, Pathum Nissanka and Charith Asalanka.
The day, Kusal hit first boundary of his International career, he Instantly became a talking point among cricket fans and experts alike. Reason, they found his playing style same as Sri Lanka’s most Iconic left-handed batter of all time – Sanath Jayasuriya!
In coming years, Kusal managed to live up to the expectations and hype surrounding him. With bottom hand dominated flicks, cuts and punches, he became a destructive opener for Sri Lanka, especially in shorter formats!
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) hierarchy also acknowledged Kusal’s valuable presense, In moving forward the team after the high profile retirements of legends like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. So, when Kusal was banned by International Cricket Council (ICC) In doping case, then SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala fought admirably well against his suspension and eventually helped him clearing his name from the allegations. It was possible, only because of Sumathipala’s commitment in saving Kusal’s career!
The same policy SLC tried to applied for Kusal in last one year also, when he was suffering with all sort of Injuries. That too, despite the fact that when appointed captain in May 2021, Kusal allegedly tried to manipulate players against the cricket board, during an Infamous annual contract dispute!
Even then, like Sumathipala, present SLC president Shammi Silva also backed Kusal, despite him fast becoming a trouble maker for the board!
However, Kusal remained uncommitted for the board, as it was mentioned in Yesterday’s media statement.
“Sri Lanka Cricket in consultation with the SLC Medical Panel worked out a 12-week Rehabilitation Program for Kusal Janith Perera’s recovery from a long-standing shoulder injury to ensure that the player is ready for selections for the T20I Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.
Towards meeting this goal, Sri Lanka Cricket advised Kusal Janith Perera to refrain from playing any competitive cricket and undergo the proposed ‘Rehabilitation Program,’ under the supervision of the SLC Medical panel.
The SLC also advised the player that postponing the rehabilitation program may negatively affect his injury,
However, instead of heeding the advice of the SLC, the player took part in the Lanka Premier League 2021, thus affecting his recovery program.
Even after his participation in the Lanka Premier League 2021, Sri Lanka Cricket’s Medical Panel decided to rehabilitate the player, focusing on the upcoming T20i Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, thus leaving him out from several international tours, which was played during the recent months.
However, despite these efforts, he failed to take part in regular ‘rehabilitation’ work and his last appearance at the High-Performance Center for ‘rehabilitation’ was on the 29th April 2022” SLC said in it’s statement Yesterday (July 25).
Cricket Age verifies all SLC claims given in It’s media statement, as In last one year, all these stories related to Kusal were exclusively published by the publication itself.
That’s why, for his turbulence and almost finished career, Kusal himself is responsible, not the SLC. To revive his career, he needs to start listening and trusting SLC more than his manager Ravi de Silva, a retired senior citizen, who self-proclaims himself as a flag bearer of Sri Lanka’s Sportsmen!
As far as Sajith Premadasa is concerned, it was just an agenda-driven attempt by him, to stir a controversy!
Two weeks ago, he was dreaming of Sri Lanka presidency, one week ago he was eyeing on Prime Minister position and now even his leadership at Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) in danger!
So, maybe for a change of focus, he tweeted about Kusal’s Injury reports, that too as always without knowing the whole truth!
