Should the domestic cricket structure be changed in Sri Lanka?
View(s):A Lot of talk is being made about the current domestic cricket structure. Cricket authorities and former players are very vocal about this and are eager to see a new structure. Why should it be changed?
The main issue with the current system is the lack of quality. There are plenty of players playing in Sri Lanka for their respective clubs, but real quality seems to be lacking. There was a time where entering to Sri Lanka national side was quite a difficult task due to the huge competition. But today, in almost every game we see new faces coming up to the team. Entering the team should be made difficult for players. It needs to create a huge competition among players and make the players work hard in order to play for the national side.
That is why an extra player should be introduced like a provincial set-up after the club set-up where the country’s best 75 – 100 players are playing each other in order to enter national side. Then we will see t real quality and vastly improved players playing for the national side. Another thing is that, quality should be made in terms of financial aspects as well. There should be a high motivation for domestic players for playing cricket. Therefore they should be paid highly. Since we are talking about a club tournament followed by a provincial tournament, the remuneration difference should be made visible. Then the players are bound to be motivated to jump to the next level. This is bound to help them to improve as players as well.
Cricket pitches in Sri Lanka are not healthy for a player to develop. For an example batsmen are not tested in these pitches since they are provided very friendly wickets. Some batsmen score double hundreds in one day or in a three day game. Spinners have no issue of playing in Sri Lanka, but the fast bowlers suffer. Fast bowlers don’t bowl long spells in match conditions. Captains take them away from the attack straight away after bowling 3 or 4 overs.
If the pitches are made as even wickets which are helpful for batsmen and bowlers both, the quality that we are talking would be seen. Leaving a bit of grass on wickets will motivate fast bowlers and improve their performances. Then they can bowl more overs in a day and their bodies will get accommodated for these sort of spells. It is quite evident that our fast bowlers are getting injured more frequently. It is due to the fact that they are not used to bowl longer spells in match conditions. We have seen some impressive fast bowlers coming through and disappearing suddenly. When asking why they are not playing, the answer comes as: They are injured .So it is Important to help batsmen as well as bowlers by providing better wickets.
Authorities should take steps to play national cricketers in domestic tournaments as well. Whenever there is a local tournament, the international players are engaged in overseas tournament such as IPL, county cricket, big bash etc, instead of taking part in local competitions. This is not good for our younger cricketers. They should play with these experienced players and learn to play a high standard. They will gain so much experience when the national side players engage in these tournaments. If not, the quality we expect will not be featured in these contests. Quantity wise Sri Lanka is blessed with so many talented cricketers since the most popular sport in Sri Lanka is cricket. But to compete against top quality sides in international cricket, we need to develop quality players with good temperament. That is why the likes of Mahela, Sanga and Aravinda should raise their voice to change the domestic structure. Yes, it needs to change sooner rather than later.
Kanishka Sanjeewa
Moratuwa