Hasaranga reveals his stance on playing in IPL

Indian Premier League 2021

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Wanindu Hasaranga

Sri Lankan leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga appearing in a video on Lasith Malinga’s YouTube Channel, revealed his stance on playing in IPL and two of the biggest dreams in his cricketing life.  

Speaking about role models, Hasaranga mentioned about two international leg-spin bowlers whom he used to follow to improve his game.

Read: Wanindu Hasaranga pulls out of Caribbean Premier League

“I used to follow Imran Tahir and Rashid Khan very closely because they are very similar to my bowling style and they bowl with the same speed as I do. Even when they play an international game or a franchise game in any league, I definitely watch them to learn something from them,” Hasaranga said. 

Hasaranga also talked about the challenge of international teams trying to read his bowling and set plans to play out his full quota of overs without giving away many wickets.

“I found out that in the last four series (ODIs and T20Is) the opposing teams are playing safe against my bowling. They didn’t attack me much therefore, I couldn’t get many wickets. I tried to bowl many dot balls as possible and contributed to the team in that way. During the India series, I tried to bowl my stock ball as much as possible and only used my wicket-taking ball targeting the wickets rather than bowling it all the time. I think it worked well during India ODIs and T20Is,” he said. 

Read: Chameera and Hasaranga make progress in ICC T20I rankings

Speaking about Piyal Wijetunga returning as spin bowling coach of the Sri Lanka national team, Hasaranga mentioned that he is a very valuable addition to the spin bowling group. 

“Piya Sir (Piyal Wijetunga) returning as spin bowling coach is very valuable for us. I think we didn’t have a spin bowling coach for two international tours. As spinners we struggled because we didn’t have anyone to get advice. I am currently working with him on how to change the speed of deliveries while bowling and trying to invent new balls,” he further added. 

When asked about whether he will join IPL this year, Hasaranga responded that he is very keen to join the IPL if he gets an opportunity to play.

“I have two dreams in cricket. One is to play for IPL and the other one is to play for a county team in England. After the India series, two IPL franchise teams spoke to me. Nothing has been confirmed yet, there are still discussions going on. I hope to join an IPL team if an opportunity is given to me because I don’t have much experience in league cricket. I have played only in the T10 league. If I can play IPL, I can get huge exposure which I can’t get playing in any other leagues in the world. The other thing is the T20I world cup is going to be held in UAE where the IPL is also held. It is an advantage for me when I represent Sri Lanka in the upcoming T20I world cup knowing the conditions well,” he concluded.