Intro
He arrived at the Heat as a relative unknown from Sri Lanka but left BBL|02 with everyone knowing his name.
Thisara Perera - he prefers the nickname 'TP' to the 'Panda' bestwoed upon him by George Bailey - was a powerhouse with the bat and ball.
Despite having played six Tests and 53 ODIs, the medium-pacer was not well known on Australian shores.
Having been signed by the Heat at the last minute when Daniel Vettori was ruled out through injury, TP had a big impact in his six games before leaving for Sri Lankan limited overs duties.
He wowed the Gabba crowd with 22 not out off just eight balls having just got off the plane against the Hurricanes in the opening round; hit two monster sixes and snared 3-27 against the Sixers in Adelaide; top-scored with 38 off 24 balls against the Renegades; and grabbed 3-18 against the Melbourne Stars.
The Australian experience certainly prepared him well for Sri Lanka as TP proved the matchwinner in both T20 wins by his country over the home side immediately after BBL|02 concluded.
It was perfect timing, as TP was bought for a whopping $675,000 by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2013 edition of the Indian Premier League. He had played just seven matches previously in stints with the Chennai SuperKings, the Kochi Tuskers and Mumbai Indians.
TP became just the fourth Sri Lankan bowler to take a hat-trick in ODIs in early 2012 against Pakistan, also completing a run out off his own bowling in the same maiden over.
In the same series, he took a career best 6-44 in the second ODI against Pakistan, the first time a bowler has taken six wickets in an ODI against Pakistan.
TP is based in Colombo where he lives with his wife Sherme, who travelled to Australia with him for the BBL. One of the highlights of their trip was a day at Australia Zoo.