Sri Lanka pacer Isuru Udana retires from international cricket with immediate effect

Sri Lanka pacer Isuru Udana has decided to bring the curtains down on his international career. He has announced retirement from the highest level at the age of 33. Interestingly, he was the part of the Sri Lanka squad that beat India in the recently concluded T20I series. Udana didn’t have great outings in two matches played. The left arm pacer bowled only five overs and conceded 39 runs while going wicketless. Even in the only ODI of the three-match series, he bowled only two overs and leaked 27 runs.

The reason for Isuru Udana’s sudden decision to retire is not known yet but clearly, he wasn’t having a great time with the ball off late. Apart from going wicketless in three limited-overs matches against India, he had picked only six wickets in as many ODIs since 2020. Even in the T20 Internationals, he was expensive, much like the 50-over format, and had picked only four wickets in six innings. Moreover, due to the dip in form, he was constantly in and out of the playing XI.

Prominent Sri Lanka commentator Roshan Abeysinghe broke the news of Isuru Udana retiring from international cricket on his official Twitter handle.

Just heard that Isuru Udana has retired from international cricket. Thank you Isuru for the years of untiring service. You can surely be proud of your achievements. Happy retired life.

— Roshan Abeysinghe (@RoshanCricket) July 31, 2021

Isuru Udana played 21 ODIs and 35 T20Is for Sri Lanka

Isuru Udana was shining light in tough times for Sri Lanka over the last couple of years. He also emerged as the all-rounder when the batting of the team was failing badly. Udana played a few cameos with the bat during this period which impressed many experts and in turn, sealed his place in the side. The 33-year-old played 21 ODIs and 35 T20 Internationals for Sri Lanka and picked 18 and 27 respectively across the two formats. He also scored 237 and 256 runs in the two formats with 78 and 84 being the highest score.

His T20 credentials rose a lot in the last couple of years and also featured for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Udana has immense experience in the shortest format playing in different leagues and has played 164 matches overall in T20s. Sri Lanka will miss his services and it is a blow for the team with the T20 World Cup set to be played in the UAE and Oman later this year.