Sri Lankan left-arm pacer Isuru Udana has announced his retirement from international cricket. He made the decision after Sri Lanka’s first series win against India in 13 years.
Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed the retirement of Isuru Udana on Saturday (July 31). However, he will play league cricket and domestic cricket.
“Cricket was, is and always will be my greatest love and I have always given my 100% both on and off the field, respecting and upholding the spirit of cricket and national pride always,” he said in a statement.
“However, I believe the time has come, for me to retire from international cricket in order to make way for the next generation of players.” he further added.
Thank you very much ❤️. Love you all. Stay safe. #goodbye #IZY17 pic.twitter.com/4dXt72bMn0
— Isuru Udana (@IAmIsuru17) July 31, 2021
Udana made his debut for Sri Lanka in the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup in England. He made his ODI debut in 2012 against India where he played two matches. But then he had to wait almost seven years to return to the playing XI. Udana has been a regular player in the Sri Lankan white-ball team since 2017.
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Udana’s last appearance in international cricket came in the second T20 against India earlier this week. He also played an ODI against India earlier this month, with a record of 0-27.
Udana, 33, has played 21 ODIs and 35 T20I matches for Sri Lanka, taking a total of 45 wickets in both formats. The left-arm pacer has played just one match in the recent T20 series against India and has not taken a single wicket.
Isuru Udana’s International ODI Bowling Records:
| MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST | AVERAGE | ECONOMY |
| 21 | 18 | 3/82 | 52.78 | 6.27 |
Isuru Udana’s International T20 Bowling Records:
| MATCHES | WICKETS | BEST | AVERAGE | ECONOMY |
| 35 | 27 | 3/11 | 33.89 | 8.27 |
Udana’s bowling is usually characterized by variations and many slow balls – which was especially valuable in the T20s, which helped him to participate in T20 leagues around the world.
He was also a great fielder and an extraordinary lower-order batsman. For Sri Lanka, he has a half-century in every format of the white ball, including an unbeaten 84 off 48 balls in the T20 against South Africa in 2019.
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Udana is currently part of the Colombo Kings in the Sri Lankan Premier League. In IPL 2020, he played 10 matches for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) but was released the following year. He took eight wickets in ten matches while playing for RCB. Apart from IPL, Udana has participated in Bangladesh Premier League and Afghanistan Premier League.
Udana is now the second Sri Lankan all-rounder to retire from international cricket in the last three months. In May, Thisara Pereira retired from international cricket.
