Sri Lanka Captain Dasun Shanaka to Leave PSL for Indian Premier League Stint with Rajasthan Royals

Colombo. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka is set to leave the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India. Shanaka has been included in the Rajasthan Royals squad as a replacement for the injured player Sam Curran. 

Although his departure may be slightly delayed due to some pending paperwork and formalities related to the PSL, he is expected to join the team in Guwahati soon. Shanaka was contracted by the Lahore Qalandars for the Pakistani T20 league. 

Earlier, Zimbabwean fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani had also left the PSL to opt for the IPL. Muzarabani terminated his contract with Islamabad United and joined Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman. 

Rajasthan Royals' first match is scheduled against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati, which the team will use as their home ground during the initial phase of the tournament. 

Shanaka recently captained Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup, where his team was eliminated in the Super-8 stage. In terms of personal performance, he scored 165 runs and took 3 wickets in the tournament. 

Notably, he played a blistering unbeaten innings of 76 runs off 31 balls against Pakistan. Despite his good performance in the World Cup, he went unsold in the IPL mini-auction, which led him to sign a contract with the PSL team Lahore Qalandars. 

The management of Rajasthan Royals includes Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara as the head coach, while Vikram Rathour serves as the assistant coach.