Mumbai: Skills "come
first" for Bhanuka Rajapaksa but the Sri Lankan batter has realised that
survival in modern-day cricket is not possible without attaining required
fitness standards.
Dropped from the national team
over fitness issues, Rajapaksa now wants to have a conversation with a
supremely-fit Virat Kohli, who he calls the 'Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket'.
Being part of the Indian
Premier League (IPL), the 30-year-old Lankan can have that opportunity to meet
the former India skipper and hopefully turn the tide having endured a dramatic
start to year 2022.
The 30-year-old announced his
international retirement this January and withdrew it a week later on the
insistence of authorities. However, he still missed the plane to India due to
the same fitness issues, last month.
Rajapaksa is sure that the
two-month long stint with Punjab Kings would benefit his game immensely and
take his fitness to the next level.
"IPL is the best league
in the world and with every teammate of yours you get to learn a lot about the
game, so I am loving picking the brains of Shikhar Dhawan. I get along very
well with Mayank Agarwal as we played U-19 together," Rajapaksa said.
"Outside of the team
Virat Kohli is always someone I could speak to and get some advice on fitness.
He's at another different level when it comes to fitness.
"To me, he is the
Cristiano Ronaldo of cricket for sure. The work he puts in you can obviously
see the results. You can compare him to anyone when it comes fitness or even
skills wise. He plays so hard and you can learn a lot by talking to him,"
he said.
On the 'fitness versus skills'
debate, Rajapaksa has a clear view.
"As a player you need
your fitness but it could be different from person to person. For me, of
course, skill comes first. And then the fitness, but if you are not fit enough
you definitely can't perform.
"I'm actually working
hard on my fitness. Whenever I get a free day I hit the gym early in the
morning. That there are some fitness requirements to represent the country and
with fitness, my international career would be longer.
"I'm hoping to play for
the next three to four years at least and do the best for the country because
after my resignation I had to withdraw it back because I had a couple of
conversations with the technical committee and the Sports Minister as well.
They wanted me to reconsider my retirement and I decided to withdraw it,"
he said.
Rajapaksa feels he is now
doing "all the right things" as he looks to extend his international
career by at least three to four years. (Agencies)
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