Want to play same brand of cricket as the IPL Players : Rajapaksa

Armed with a lot of positivity after his impressive stint in IPL, Sri Lanka batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa wants to continue playing the same brand of cricket at the Asia Cup beginning here on Saturday. Turning out for the Punjab Kings, Rajapaksa showcased his power hitting skills at this year's IPL with some impressive aggressive knocks.

"For me, the experience I bring after playing in the IPL will create good energy for the side," Rajapaksa was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

"Coming back to the Sri Lankan side, I have brought in a lot of positivity after speaking to a lot of the IPL players, like Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal and KG (Kagiso Rabada). I don't think I have the time to explain in detail the talks we had, but there were a lot of positive vibes. I'm hoping we can take that same brand of cricket to the world," he added.

The 30-year-old Rajapaksa played nine games for the Punjab Kings, scoring 206 runs at a strike rate of 159.68.

"One of the best chats I had with Liam (Livingstone) was when he said, 'If it's in the V, make sure the ball is in the trees'. He'd just be that aggressive. Proper slam-bang player," he added.

Sri Lanka will take on Afghanistan in the tournament opener on Saturday.