‘Tables are turning’ – Russel Arnold
The introduction of the youth policy is starting to deliver
Days after the dreadful white-ball tour in England the national cricket team didn’t have much time to ponder as the Indians had already arrived in the island for another series. The tour comprised of three ODIs and as many T20 internationals.
The Indians didn’t have the services of the senior players including their regular captain Virat Kohli and vice captain Rohit Sharma as they were preparing for the five-match Test series against England. Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were appointed captain and vice captain for the tour.
Despite being inexperienced at international level, the young Indian brigade had abundance of experience at domestic level and they also have the exposure of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where they play alongside international players.
Russel Arnold, who has seen the action from close quarters as an international commentator, believes that the squad that toured Sri Lanka cannot be classified as a second string team. According to him, if that team is good enough to beat the opposition, it shows the depth and the bench strength.
At present India have the luxury to pick and choose players according to the requirements of the team. Leading up to this tour, Sri Lanka has been struggling to find the right team combinations during the past few years and with the T20 world cup on the horizon tough decisions had to be made.
According to Arnold, Sri Lanka must be patient, especially considering the fact that the Lankans haven’t been able to win matches consistently in the recent past, seeking the best strategy to build the team is the only solution.
The introduction of the youth policy is considered to be one of the significant decisions taken by the selection committee headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe. Several senior players have been excluded from the team. The gritty left-handed batsman expressed his views about the youth policy as well.
“The introduction of the youth policy will encourage the senior players to do better,” said Arnold, the former Sri Lanka cricketer turned commentator.
“If they are determined, their standards will lift in turn, the rest of the players, whoever around, will also lift their standards and it will be good for the team. So I don’t think it’s the end of the road for the senior players. It’s up to those players to show how good they are and how much they want to be in the team.”
Throughout this year, the top-order lacked consistency, but in this series Avishka Fernando and Minod Bhanuka got Sri Lanka off to decent starts. But they had little support from the middle order as they failed convert their score in to something substantial. This has been a major worry for Sri Lanka.
According to Arnold, batsmen need to seize certain moment and build scores. They also need to learn the art of rotating the strike. That is an area Sri Lanka needs to prioritize in future. He hopes that, they will become better with experience.
”The batsmen need to absorb pressure and should know when to attack. If they do that, they will be able to get competitive totals,” he explained.
Batting collapses have been a familiar sight for head coach Mickey Arthur and batting coach Grant Flower. They have been under scrutiny for the below par batting performances. According to Arnold criticising the coach or any other person is not the right thing. It’s a collective responsibility.
He also admitted that there can be some communication gaps between some players and the coaching staff due to the language barrier and this needs to be addressed.
Injuries have affected the balance of the team. These injuries have occurred not due to workload according to Arnold, and player-rotation policy is not required for the time being.
“It has been a major cause of concern over the last few years. We need to find a solution to keep players on the field and find the reasons for being injured frequently. For instance Charith Asalanka played only a handful of games before he suffered a hamstring injury. We also missed Bhanuka Rajapaksa due to an injury he suffered while batting. So we have to address each case differently,” he added.
The bowling attack, led by Dushmantha Chameera, has been flourishing for some time now. Arnold praised Chameera for maintaining fitness standards and being able to bowl consistently and execute the plans on the field.
“Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne and Charith Asalanka have been the standout performers in the series. The reason for their success is they are playing according to their instincts. They are competitors and do the right thing at the right time,” he opined.
The T20 series win against India will be a confidence booster for the young team led by Dasun Shanaka as they approach another white-ball series against South Africa in September.