Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa today requested Sri Lankan cricketer Bhanuka Rajapaksa to reconsider his decision to retire from international cricket.

He stated that because there is still time left for the cricketer to play for the country as a young player, it is more important to move forward while facing challenges than making hasty decisions.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa last week announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect, citing family obligations.

However, issuing a statement on the matter today, Sri Lanka’s sports minister said that sports as well as the sports life are challenging for many athletes and that they are all professional players. 

The Sports Minister said Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) operates as an independent institution and respecting that a technical advisory committee headed by Aravinda de Silva was appointed in order to develop the sport in Sri Lanka. 

He added that as a decision of the executive committee of the SLC and the technical advisory committee, former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena was appointed as a consultant coach. He said that Jayawardena’s services are currently being obtained for the youth team ahead of the U-19 World Cup.

He said that players have every right to leave a sports team for personal reasons, while respecting professional obligations. In such a case, the decision to leave must be made by the player, Namal Rajapaksa said.

He said that if there is a problem with the administration or if an injustice has been done leading to such a decision, there is an opportunity to intervene. “However, it is not possible to change the entire structure or the entire legal system based on just one or few players,” the minister said.

Rajapaksa said that in the recent past certain players were punished for their misconduct and that they were given the opportunity to return to the sport for respecting that decision during that period.  

The Sports Minister, however, warned that if even those same players act in a manner that brings disrepute to the country in an undisciplined manner once again, he would not hesitate to make a decision imposing a lifetime on them.