Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka is in full form with the white ball, especially in cricket’s shortest format. His performance in the 1st T20I clash against India was outstanding, with his destructive innings of 45 runs on 27 balls with the help of 3 fours and 3 sixes. And again, in the second T20I encounter, his stormy knock of 56 runs on just 22 balls helped his team to set an enormous total on the board.
In the IPL Auction 2023, the franchises picked English all-rounder Sam Curran, Ben Stokes, and Australian all-rounder Cameroon Green at unexpected prices. Also, Sam became the most expensive player in IPL history when Punjab Kings made its final bid on him of 18.50 INR Cr. However, Skipper Dasun Shanaka, with a base price of 50 Lakhs, went unsold, and now his marvelous performance is catching the eye of every IPL franchise. He is currently the highest run-getter in the ongoing series against India, and he has 101 runs to his name with an outstanding average of 206.12. He batted at no.6, this average is overwhelming at this position. He also picked two wickets.
Reflecting the concern about this player, former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir said this Sri Lankan all-rounder would have been most expensive if this series had happened before the auction. And some franchises needed more money to buy him.
“I won’t have money, and he would be that expensive, the way he has batted. That is what the auction is all about. Imagine if this series had happened just before the auction, some of the franchises would probably not have had the money to buy him,” said Gambhir.
The last and series decider T20I match will be played on 7th January 2022 in Rajkot. The Sri Lankan skipper will try their best to clinch the series.
