Roshen Silva – Hurt but determined to prove a point
Roshen in deep thought during the chat and over his future Pic by MA Pushpakumara
After a disastrous tour to Australia in 2019, the selectors made some wholesale changes to the test team with several seniors including skipper Dinesh Chandimal, facing the axe.
Among the axed were off-spinner Dilruwan Perera and middle-order batsman Roshen Silva, dropped following Sri Lanka’s innings and 40-run defeat at the Gabba. Apart from Niroshan Dickwella, none of the Sri Lankan batters scored more than 35 runs in the first Test as Sri Lanka capitulated inside three days to begin their two-match series in a bitter note.
This was a hard pill to swallow for the then-31-year-old middle-order batter and what transpired thereafter has left him dejected.
“I don’t know why I have been consistently side-lined from Test cricket,” said the 34-year-old former St. Joseph’s College cricketer in an interview with the Sunday Times.
“If I take you back to the Australian series in 2019, except Niroshan Dickwella who scored a half century in the day/night Test at the Gabba, none of our batters were successful. But I had to pay the price as the team management asked me to go home after the first Test. I asked for the reasons but no answer was given”. Since then he has been cold-shouldered despite a promise by the new selectors who took office in 2021.
When the new selection committee was appointed in 2021, Chairman of the Selection Committee Pramodya Wickramasinghe did have a conversation with Roshen. There he had told Roshen to continue to perform and they will consider him for selections. However, despite his consistent performance at domestic level, he was unable to cement his place in the Test side.
During the home series against West Indies in 2021, he was picked in the initial squad as the extra batsman. However after the first Test he was withdrawn from the squad much to his disappointment. Likewise he was with the National Team for three years until the tour to India in 2022 where he was not even included in the 20 member squad.
However, he had an opportunity to make a comeback during the Bangladesh series as he was named in the squad. But soon after announcing the squad it was revealed that Roshen had withdrawn from the tour due to his commitment in England. However he denied withdrawing from the tour while explaining the circumstances that led to his unavailability.
“I wouldn’t have gone to England if they had told me that I will be given the chance to play in the playing XI. But there was no such commitment from the selectors. Considering how they treated me, I could not trust them anymore” he explained.
The selectors had given him two days to return to Sri Lanka to do the two kilometre fitness test, but he had urged the selectors to give him some time. As Roshen was unable to come on that specific day, the selectors had informed him that they had picked Kamindu Mendis to replace him for the tour.
There has been a perception among the cricketing fraternity that the selectors might have thought that Roshen’s inclusion might cause an imbalance in the team.
“How can they think that my inclusion will affect the balance of the team? I played 12 Test matches without affecting the balance. I spent sleepless nights as I was thinking about the reasons for my untimely exclusion from the Test team. I always think that, if I’m consistent the selectors will consider me for National selection. But unfortunately that hasn’t happened up to now. “He explained.
If we closely analyse Roshen Silva’s career, we can observe that even though he has been consistent in domestic cricket he has not been able to get an opportunity to revive his career even after deciding to join the (SSC) in 2021.
“From the outset, my intention was to revive my career. Head coach Thilina Kandambi, captains Dimuth Karunaratne and Dasun Shanaka wanted me to join SSC,” he explained.
After being ignored for three years, the former Josephian cricketer decided to play league cricket in England. He represented the Chorley cricket club in the Northern Premier League. During the season he scored 793 runs at an average of 41.74 in 30 matches. He was also an integral part of the team as they were crowned as the Northern premier T20 champion’s in2022.
Roshen, who came back to Sri Lanka after completing his successful stint in England, continued his dominance in domestic cricket as he scored 504 runs at an average of 72.00 in the recently concluded Major League Tournament 2022/23 season.
Roshen was given a National Super League provincial contract in 2021. In that tournament he averaged over 100. But surprisingly he did not get the contract this year. When inquired the reason for being excluded from the contract, he said that he is still awaiting to know the reason.
The worrying factor for Roshen is that, as of now Sri Lanka will play only 23 Test matches in the next four years.
Roshen’s career at international level has been a bumpy ride up to now. There were times that Roshen had decided to retire on numerous occasions but had the determination to be consistent and prove that he is still able to fight for his place despite challenges.
“I have always played for my country with pride and let my bat do the talking. I have scored 9548 runs at an average of 50.51. I will continue to push on until I can to make my country proud. I want people to remember me as a cricketer who has played the game in good spirits,” he said. He is hopeful that the Selectors will consider his domestic performances when they are selecting the squad for the impending tour of New Zealand in 2023 and he is confident that he will be able to prove that he deserves to represent his country again.