Sri Lanka fast bowler Dhammika Prasad officially announced his retirement from international cricket on Thursday (February 18). Prasad, now 37, played 25 Tests and 24 ODIs and a solitary T20I taking a total of 107 wickets since making his international debut in an ODI against Bangladesh in 2006.
The last of his Test matches came against the West Indies in 2015, incidentally a breakthrough year for the seamer. In nine Tests that year, Prasad took 41 Tests and finished among the top-10 wicket-takers of the year. It went downhill from there as he suffered a serious shoulder injury which required surgery. Prasad never recovered his bowling spark and a comeback was beyond him despite the constant churn of fast bowlers in the national team ranks.
Prasad took 15 wickets from three home Tests against India in 2015 but his best moment in the Sri Lanka whites came a year earlier when his second-innings 5 for 90 at Headingley paved the way for the country's first-ever Test series in England. Prasad, who has represented the SSC since 2002, has a total of 351 first-class wickets from 130 games at an average of 29.1. He hopes to play at least one more season of domestic circuit
"I think this is the correct time for me to retire from International cricket and provide a chance for the youngsters," Prasad told the Daily News. "I have decided to continue playing domestic cricket and already I have played for 19 years for the SSC giving my best," added the former schoolboy of De Mazenod College.-cricbuzz