Hashan expects batsmen to fire in South Africa
The Sri Lanka Under-19 squad with SLC officials prior to their departure to South Africa for the Youth World Cup - Pic by Nilan Maligaspe
It’s been a year of unpredictability for the Under-19 cricket team. As they prepare to battle for glory in South Africa, let’s take a closer look at their performance ahead of the tournament.
Their preparations commenced when Pakistan arrived in Sri Lanka for a five-match ODI series. It was a closely contested series, where Pakistan won the series 3-2.
Their head coach Hashan Tillakaratne rued the fact that his team was not able to hold their nerve during the decisive moments.
“There were some good performances but we were a little patchy as well. We were a little inconsistent leading up to the tournament but I am confident that we can rectify those mistakes in South Africa,” he said during his team’s pre-departure press conference for the World Cup.
After the Pakistan series there was the Asia Cup where Sri Lanka were knocked out in the first round itself.
“There were few areas that they had to improve after their Asia Cup debacle.
Batting in pressure situations was one of the major areas that the team needed to improve ahead of the World Cup.
The former batsman expressed the need of holding their nerve on pressure situations.
“We have to be able to handle vital situations well. It could be while batting or bowling, but in general we have to handle these crunch situations better. If they can’t perform in pressure situations they will not be able to be successful at international level,” he emphasised.
After the Asia Cup Nipun Dananjaya and his Lion cubs had to embark on two tough tours in Bangladesh and West Indies.
In Bangladesh the team lost the ODI series 4-0 and they came back to Sri Lanka with a lot of questions about their chances of competing against strong opponents in the World Cup.
The team didn’t have the services of their senior players Kamil Mishara and Ahan Wickramasinghe as they were suspended due to disciplinary reasons.
The team manager and member of the selection panel Farveez Maharoof went on to say that during the tour they noted that some of the players were not playing according to their instincts but they were playing for a World Cup spot.
Maharoof highlighted that Kamil Mishara and Ahan Wickramasinghe were unfortunate to miss out the Bangladesh tour. Furthermore he said that absence of these players was a huge blow to the team’s confidence.
Their fortunes changed when they went on a tour to West Indies for the tri series involving hosts West Indies and England.
The team led by Nipun Dananjaya won four out of seven matches and went on to win the tri-Series in West Indies.
It was a confidence booster for the team as they battle for the ultimate prize. Leading up to the World Cup they had a training camp in Dambulla to acclimatise to the conditions in South Africa.
Sri Lanka has brought in right-arm fast bowler Matheesha Pathirana, who has a similar action as Lasith Malinga. The head coach believed that Matheesha will provide the balance required and he also noted that his unorthodox action will be useful in a major tournament such as the World Cup.
Nipun Dananjaya will lead Sri Lanka in the tournament. This will be his second World Cup.
“As a captain I am honoured to lead my country in a major tournament such as the World Cup. We are hoping to take one game at a time and we will play according to our strengths. We had training at the Madiwela Army camp to develop our mental strength and that strength enabled us to win the Tri-Nation series in West Indies.”
Sri Lanka’s highest position in the history of the Under-19 World Cup was when they became runner-up in the year 2000. This time they will hope to go one step further in South Africa.
They have been grouped alongside New Zealand, India and Japan in Group ‘A’.
Sri Lanka will commence their Under-19 World Cup campaign against defending champions India on January 19. Before that they will play two warm-up matches against hosts South Africa and Pakistan.
| SRI LANKA UNDER-19 SQUAD | |
| Nipun Dananjaya (Captain), Navod Paranavithana, Kamil Mishara, Ahan Wickremesinghe, Sonal Dinusha, Ravindu Rashantha, Mohammed Shamaz, Thaveesha Abhishek, Chamindu Wijesinghe, Ashen Daniel, Dilum Sudeera, Kavindu Nadeeshan, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana, Amshi de Silva.
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