Sri Lanka Wins Asia Cup
Cricket

Bhanuka Rajapaksa dedicates Asia Cup victory to ‘crisis-hit’ fellow citizens

Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup 2022-winning hero, has dedicated the title to his crisis-hit island nation. His stellar performance with the bat played a crucial role in his side’s spectacular victory in the final against Pakistan on Sunday.

Sri Lanka vanquished Pakistan by 23 runs in the final on Sunday night to win their sixth Asia Cup title overall. Sri Lanka were reduced to 67/5 after batting first, but recovered brilliantly thanks to Rajapaksa (71 not out) and Wanindu Hasaranga (36) to post 170/6.

“We always wanted to show the world – a couple of decades back, we had aggression in our side, and we wanted to create those moments (again) as a unit,” a grinning Rajapaksa told reporters at the post match press conference.

“Looking ahead, we want to maintain this momentum ahead of the World Cup; with the crisis at home, this is a difficult time for all Sri Lankans, but we hope we brought some smiles to our people’s faces. This is for the entire nation; they have been waiting for this for so long,” Rajapaksha added, smiling.

Sri Lanka won the much-needed Asia Cup despite the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, as well as political unrest.

Following the title win, the Sri Lankan captain had a message for the fans back home. “Have faith in our cricketers. There is a lot of bad stuff going around. They, too, should enjoy their lives as cricketers, rather than spreading negativity. They, too, have private lives. The key is to keep believing. As captain, I give the players as much confidence as I can. I can’t ask for anything more,” Shanaka said.

Shanaka went on to say that winning the Asia Cup could be a stepping stone for greater things to come for Sri Lanka cricket, which has been in transition for a long time.

“Even two or three years ago, the team was playing good cricket, but the winning factor was missing,” he added. “This could be the turning point in our cricket; this group can play for the next five to six years, which is also a very good sign.”

“The World Cup qualifiers will also be beneficial because they will allow us to play in those conditions prior to the main tournament.” “It will be a fantastic opportunity for us,” he added. Shanaka believes the same unit can achieve greater success in the future now that they have a morale-boosting Asia Cup silverware.

“That’s not the case. When it comes to India-Pakistan relations, we all know it’s a different ballgame. Our cricketing history is also good, so we didn’t have anything to prove about how good we are,” he explained. “The only thing is that we probably weren’t ranked high enough, but with this team, we can do better and become that high-ranking team,” Shanaka concluded joyously.

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