There is speculation that several Sri Lankan cricketers will be announcing their retirement from the sport in order to migrate to the USA who have opened the doors for cricketers to come in.
However, 37-year-old right arm paceman Dhammika Prasad confirmed that he has no intention of moving out of Sri Lanka after his retirement from international cricket.
“I have no regrets as a cricketer. I thoroughly enjoyed my playing days alongside great gentlemen and I am retiring happily. This is the reality and have to face it. The only sadness or regret I have in my life is that I could not achieve something that I promised.
"After my injury my daughter told me to somehow play for Sri Lanka again. I promised her that I will, but unfortunately, I was not able to fulfill her wishers. Sorry Putha, Thaththi could not play again. I think I did not disappoint any of you.
“I tried hard to come back. It is not easy to represent the national team and it was a great privilege and an honour to represent Sri Lanka,” said an emotional Prasad at his official retirement press briefing at his club SSC on Thursday.
“I plan to play first class cricket for two more years. I started my cricketing career in 2001 and till today I have represented only the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC). As I retire from my international career, I also thought of retiring from SSC too with the main intention of giving the opportunity to a younger player,” added Prasad a product of De Mazenod College Kandana.
Prasad’s international career that spanned over 15 years had him play 25 Test matches and 25 ODIs.
His debut Test was in 2008 against India at the P. Sara Oval and ended his Test career in 2015 against West Indies at the same venue. He captained SSC in 2019 and guided the youngsters on the correct path.
Former Sri Lankan skipper and coach Marvan Atapattu is the person who invited Prasad to join SSC after having observed his bowling performances at school level.
“Prasad had the ability to bowl well with both the new and old ball. Usually fast bowlers prefer to bowl with the new ball to get opening batters dismissed soon,” said Atapattu.