Mr. New Selector, this is your new task
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Enough of this toomfoolery one must remember cricket is a serious business. Pic by Amila Gamage
Now the gruelling series is done and dusted. In the midst, many things were revealed but, none was palatable to the cricket connoisseur. Mid last week, Sanath Jayasuriya and company gave Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) their parting gift — the provisional squad for the Pakistan Series which will take place from September 28-October 10, in Abu Dhabi.
At the sameti e there are rumours that the provisional squad was picked by a pack of officials and not by the outgoing selectors.
Mind you, the tour includes a day-night Test match with a pink ball — a game trickier than the red ball day game, the tour is bound to be a gruelling one..
However to pick the final touring squad, the onus would be on the new squad of selectors, yet to be named. Certainly, their job function would be enviable. Right now, Lankan cricket is like a ship without a rudder, a sail or oars. Right now, the young cricketers are exposed to the elements; yet, the public is still with them, believing in what they are capable of. But still, for a moment I would not even dream of accepting the selectors’ job.
Among the most newsworthy was the discovery of court documents linking SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala with the gaming industry. Yes, it’s quite serious and the consequences of that revelation would be rolled out in the coming days. So the events may be delayed by a few moments.
Then, among the most hacked and unpalatable is the question: “How could Sri Lankan Cricket turn around after the retirement of Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara and T.M. Dilshan? With all due respect for those three greats, I feel it is high time this verse of that lullaby is erased or be muted.
Now for the past two years or more, we have gone through a plethora of names performing with the Lion crest representing Sri Lanka Cricket. Among them, the following are capable cricketers who have the ability to take up the challenge internationally. We could go through the list of batsmen in the Test arena. Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Milinda Siriwardena and Asela Gunaratne.
Then in the two shorter versions of the game we have – Niroshan Dickwella, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Milinda Siriwardena and Asela Gunaratne.
Players are still wondering where they went wrong?
Certainly there is more but, to my mind these are the most prominent. So what’s wrong with this list of players? These are all batsmen who have, in one instance or the other, played a match-winning inning. Now leaving room for the odd injury or two, these cricketers are battle-worthy and certainly, picking seven batters from the given 12 or so players would not be a task.
This is why we vehemently disagree that we are yet to overcome the big three trauma of losing Sanga, Mahela and Dilshan. Yes, the three doyens had the aura and the command but, this is our question too. Did our cricket authorities let these players cut their own niche? If the authorities did not subject these cricketers to undue pressure and other tribulations, fifteen months would have been sufficient for the Lankan cricketers to build their own castle.
But, the crux of our woes lies with the bowling department. Yes, there was a time when any Sri Lanka captain would throw the ball to Muttiah Muralitharan or Chaminda Vaas and hey presto, the job was done. But, since then, it has been a matter of Herath delivering the goods when he is fit and, if not, God help Sri Lanka. The closest to a good match-winning bowler other than Herath was Dhammika Prasad but, once he was picked to lead the attack, he was beset with injury problems. The same could be said of Chanaka Welagedera — the answer to Chaminda Vaas at one point in history. He played in 21 Tests claiming 55 wickets.
Then, along the way, the Lankans rode their luck with bowlers such as Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep and Shaminda Eranga but, they could not deliver the goods at International level. They are adequate bowlers but, not the seam bowlers that the international call demands.
In recent times, the Lankans discovered the talent of Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara – bowlers with genuine pace, along with left arm seam-bowler Vishwa Fernando but, the results are not encouraging.
At one point, the Lankan cricket fan was more than encouraged when Dilruwan Perera paired off with Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan to make short work of that amazing 3-0 win against Australia. During that short time of space, the batsmen scored runs and the bowlers, especially the spinners, were on the spot. We all thought we had broken the shackles of the big-three dependence. But, like a bad dream, it came back to haunt us again and again.
Yet, at the same time, have we been backing the wrong horses? Just ponder…. Suddenly, we have discovered that Akila Dhananjaya has a lot of variations and when on song, he can be a headache even to Indian batsmen. Then do we have to talk about batsmen who have heavier footwork? Then, was leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay discovered by the wrong selector? Is he only a T-20 bowler? Why isn’t left-armer Malinda Pushpakumara, after so much flaunting, not delivering? Left-arm chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan should be persisted more with the longer duration of the game, some experts feel. He could be expensive in the shorter version. May be because of that reason he is not getting a proper break?
One may have all the expensive ingredients for the dish but, if the cook does not use his skills, the serve may taste very bland. We beg to say to these incoming selectors, that this has been the biggest drawback in our cricket.
We have not got the proper blend. If the selectors’ job is only to sign on the papers that contain the names that some others have selected, the job is sure to go awry. Then, if a van driver is pushed to test the skills of the playing contingent, they might end up at the other end of nowhere.
The outgoing selectors were crying they did not have sufficient fit men to name in the team. Well, the players have to be produced locally. Even in Sri Lanka, there is an army of experts who look into the management of players and injury management is a part of their business.
You do not have to go far. Just ask Mr. Chaminda Vaas how he stayed out of serious injury for almost a-decade-and-a half of intense international cricket, and the same goes to even Muralitharan.
| The provisional squad for the tour of Pakistan 1. Dimuth Karunaratne 2. Kaushal Silva 3. Kusal Mendis 4. Dinesh Chandimal – Captain 5. Angelo Mathews 6. Lahiru Thirimanne 7. Niroshan Dickwella 8. Sadeera Samarawickrama 9. Rangana Herath 10. Suranga Lakmal 11. Nuwan Pradeep 12. Lakshan Sandakan 13. Vishwa Fernando 14. Lahiru Kumara 15. Jeffrey Vandersay 16. Milinda Siriwardana 17. Dhananjaya de Silva 18. Dushmantha Chameera 19. Dilruwan Perera 20. Malinda Pushpakumara 21. Roshen Silva 22. Akila Dananjaya 23. Charith Asalanka 24. Shaminda Eranga 25. Dhammika Prasad. | |