Take stock and think beyond T-20, says Jayasuriya
Sri Lanka’s one of the most senior cricketers and chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya is of the view that the time is opportune for the Lankan cricketers to sit back and count the chicks so that they could make plans for the next phase of the nation’s cricket.
“Now the expectations are more. The Lankan public will look to our lads to win every time they cross the boundary line to play a game of cricket. Yet, in law of averages it does not occur in that manner. But, what is very important is to maintain the peak levels and keep performing without a dip,” Jayasuriya said.
“In 1996 when we won the World Cup, there were expectations and every time we went to the park, people wanted us to win. That puts a lot of pressure on you. This is one area that Lankan cricketers would have to be concerned about. They must not let the pressures of success take precedence”.
The Lankan chief selector said that one of the main ingredients in our T-20 World Cup win was the number of allrounders that the Lankans had on call. He said: “Having an array of fast bowling allrounders was very advantageous to us. This is one area that we lacked in the past. Now we have Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekera and Thisara Perera in that department. That was one of the keys to 
our success. Right along, we have had spin bowling allrounders in our ranks, but not the fast bowling allrounders”.
Another area that Jayasuriya is happy is the performances of the youngsters. “In 1996, the youngsters blended with the seniors and brought us success, but in 2014, the seniors blended with the youngsters and brought the cup,” he said.
Jayasuriya was also of the view that it was time for the Lankans to change gears and look to the tours at hand while aiming for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. He said: “This is where the fast bowling allrounders would play a key role. Firstly, skipper Mathews will have to have a chat with the team, and plan out the strategy, without putting too much pressure on themselves.
“They all know, unlike the wickets in Bangladesh, the wickets there would be fast and bouncy and the fast bowlers will have to get their work cut out. He especially feels that Thisara Perera will have to put some more effort in to his bowling department if he is to shine as a fast bowling allrounder”.
Speaking in general, Jayasuriya said the situation at hand where Sri Lanka which played well in important tournaments, but, failed to produce cup winning performances was not satisfactory.
“I feel we could have won the 2011 World Cup in India, but, making that number of changes in a final was not the most conducive situation. Then we could have won the T-20 World Cup in Colombo. But, I feel the bowling line up in that match was not the most suited for that challenge. If we had Rangana Herat in that line up, we could have done better.
“You must have your team composition accordingly. This time we brought in Seekuge Prasanna who is a spinner for the semi-final and then reverted to Thisara Perera in the final. Both moves worked as planned. That is the point that I am trying to stress here. The most suitable XI should be in the park at important games,” Jayasuriya said.
Pix by Amila Gamage