Sri Lankan conditions, he was often pushed him into the sidelines. He mostly played the holding role and bowled relatively lesser number of overs due to his inability to take wickets in spin friendly Sri Lankan pitches. However, he ended up taking 130 of is 168 career test wickets in away conditions and was often rewarded for his ability to hold a line and length over long periods of time in overseas conditions. He also felt the heat at times being under scrutiny for being an injury prone and due to his fitness issues. He currently plays for the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club. He was an important member of 2014 ICC World Twenty20 winning team. On 2 February 2022, Lakmal announced that he would retire from all forms of international cricket following Sri Lanka's tour of India. Early days Born in Hambantota district, Lakmal started his cricket career at his first school, Deberawewa Central College, in Hambantota. He then attended Richmond College, Galle and played his senior school cricket at Richmond College. His talent was first spotted by fast bowling coaches of Sri Lanka Cricket while he was still schooling at Debarewewa Central. His progress was also closely monitored by the coaches when he transferred to the Richmond College. He initially lacked the stamina to bowl long spells due to lack of nutrition despite his natural talent and was also believed to have fallen ill during one of the occasions when he delivered a long spell at net session. He was looked after well and was groomed when he was inducted into the cricket academy especially knowing the fact that he hailed from an outstation area. His height and ability to get bounce and ability to extract swing at a tender age had caught the attention from cricketing circles. His wrist position and action were deemed as identical with the likes of Australian veteran Glenn McGrath. His father was a farmer and he moved to Colombo from his native Hambantota to pursue his interest in cricket. He received imminent attention and support to pursue his career in cricket from Dinal Philips who then served as the President's Counsel for a considerable period of time and whom Lakmal later would later acknowledge as his father figure. Domestic career He made his presence felt at domestic cricket since joining Tamil Union in 2007. He made his List A debut for