Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera departs Natwest T20 Blast following national team call up

The Sri Lankan cricket team is in desperate need of some good news now. Following the humiliation they received at the hands of lowly-placed Zimbabwe, they are currently getting thrashed by the men in blue in their own backyard. Kohli and his deputies are turning the heat on at the Lankan soil and have already secured the three match Test series by winning the first two.

Sri Lanka were not able to offer much resilience as India won the first two Tests quite comprehensively. It is very much clear that the current Lankan team is lacking the necessary experience they need to beat a classy outfit like India. Hence, to avoid further humiliations in the upcoming ODI series and provide some much-needed experience to the squad, they have called back veteran all-rounder Thisara Perera in the team.

Perera is currently plying his trade for Gloucestershire in the English T20 competition Natwest T20 Blast. On being called up for the national side, he will now have to give up his Gloucestershire contract. Gloucestershire, in their official released, thanked the all-rounder for his contributions. He has picked up 10 wickets in the 7 matches he has played for Gloucestershire.

Official release from Gloucestershire

“Gloucestershire Cricket would like to thank Thisara Perera for his contribution to this summer’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign. Perera, who took 10 wickets in 7 matches during the campaign has been called up to the Sri-Lanka national team for the one-day series clash against India.”

Ahead of the T20 fixtures elsewhere in the South Group on Thursday night, Gloucestershire currently sit 3rd  and will be keeping a close eye on proceedings ahead of an away match against Sussex on Friday night. Gloucestershire face a crucial T20 match on Sunday against Essex, which is also the final home match of the T20 competition.