Bhanuka Rajapaksa: News

Unlike his relative Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan President, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, chose his bat instead of his mouth to answer questions. Born Pramod Bhanuka Bandara Rajapaksa in Colombo, he began his cricketing career with Royal College Colombo. His first tryst with international cricket was when he was picked for the 2010 U19 World Cup in New Zealand. Finishing the tournament as the highest run-getter for Sri Lanka, he showcased his batting style. Modeling his batting technique around the legendary Australian player Adam Gilchrist, Rajapaksa has a style suitable for limited-overs cricket. Rajapaksa was the first Sri Lankan player to score 150 runs in a U19 ODI match. Touted as one of the best young talents in the country, Bhanuka had to wait 10 years after his first-class debut to make his senior international debut. In 2019, he played his first T20I match against Pakistan. Against India, he made his ODI debut in 2021. Rajapaksa had been fined and banned for a year by the Sri Lankan Cricket association for breach of player contracts in July 2021.