Sri Lankan cricketer Thisara Perera has extended his support to the campaign of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Perera is the second member of the Sri Lanka national cricket team to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa, after Thilakaratne Dilshan.

The ODI cricketer now appears for an advertisement supporting the candidature of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Several months ago, Thisara Perera  stepped down from the team citing “mental stress” when he haw pulled out of the playing eleven due to lack of form. It was widely speculated that he was going to retire from international cricket and migrate to New Zealand.

At this point, the President had personally contacted Thisara Perera and inquired him about the incident. Thisara Perera had told the President that he was treated in a shabby manner by some prominent administrators.

The President had urged the cricketer not to make any hasty decisions such as retiring from international cricket and had asked him to “be patient”.  Rajapaksa had later instructed cricket authorities to resolve their matters with a prudent approach, avoiding unwanted clashes with players.

After President Rajapaksa’s intervention, Perera was considered for national selection and he performed brilliantly in the subsequent series against Pakistan, becoming the player of the tournament.