After months of speculation that she might be on the verge of retiring from international cricket, Chamari Athapaththu finally stated after Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup victory in Dambulla that she intends to play for her country until the ODI World Cup in 2020, at the latest.
The 34-year-old Athapaththu has been evasive about her future for the past few months. She is the captain of Sri Lanka and without a doubt their greatest player. She had, however, stated on social media that her “last duty” with the national team would be a series in South Africa in April, although she later declined to elaborate.
When asked if she would guarantee her fans that they would see her play for a long time in Sri Lankan colours, Athapaththu replied, “Hopefully I’ll still play till the next 50-over World Cup,” to the host broadcaster. India will host the World Cup in the upcoming year; the dates of the competition have not yet been announced.
This implies that Athapaththu will be there for the upcoming two major international tournaments: the ODI edition next year and the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh this October.
Athapaththu contributed significantly to her team’s victory at the Asia Cup once more. In addition to hitting 61 off 43 in the championship game as Sri Lanka attempted to chase down 168, she finished the tournament with a massive lead in runs scored, having amassed 304 at a strike rate of 147 in five innings. Shafali Verma of India came in second best with 200 runs with a strike rate of 141.