Colombo [Sri Lanka]: Sri Lanka pacer Dhammika Prasad, who last played in 2015 against West Indies, has retired from international cricket at age of 37.
Prasad was a key cog in the bowling wheel of Sri Lanka before a shoulder injury hindered his cricketing career. The right-arm fast-medium bowler had made comeback in first-class cricket but wasn't able to play for Sri Lanka.
Prasad played an integral role in Sri Lanka's first series win in England in 2014. His second-innings five-wicket haul has been the highlight of his short career.
Prasad scalped 75 wickets in the longest format of the game and finished with 32 ODI wickets in 24 games. Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath on Thursday remembered Prasad's heroics against England.
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"We had never won a series in England, and when Dhammika took wickets on that fourth day in Leeds, it set us up for victory and that was a remarkable thing," media quoted Herath as saying.
"When he and I bowled together, I knew he would be putting pressure on the batsman from the other end - either keeping the runs down or threatening their wickets," he added.
Herath also spoke about Prasad's heated argument with Indian pacer Ishant Sharma in 2015. "I also remember something to laugh about. In 2015, when we played India at home, he had a heated argument with Ishant Sharma on the field," media quoted Herath as saying.
"At the time we all thought it would be something that went on for a long time. But that same evening, we saw him and Ishant having a coffee together at the hotel. They hadn't waited for the end of the match - they made up that evening itself," he added.
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Former Sri Lanka skipper praised Prasad's eagerness to bowl at any stage of the game. "Generally fast bowlers like to bowl with the new ball first thing in the day when the conditions suit them, but Dhammika was someone you could call on anytime," said Atapattu.
"He'd want the ball at all times of the day, no matter what condition it was in. If it was 5 pm, and he was bowling with an old ball, and there was a batsman batting on 150, he'd still take the ball, because he wanted to get that breakthrough for the team. Those are rare qualities from a cricketer," he added.
Prasad wants to feature in Sri Lanka's domestic arena before entirely quitting cricket.
