Dasun Shanaka: To be or not to be
Sri Lanka was to replace Dasun Shanaka (C) with Kusal Mendis (L) as skipper, but the former received another lifeline - AFP
Sri Lanka’s white-ball skipper Dasun Shanaka was in the firing line with questions asked why he remained in the team despite not delivering with the bat and ball. His performance was discussed during the World Cup Qualifiers between Shanaka, the Coach and Chief Selector Pramodya Wickremasinghe, and an agreement was reached for the 32-year-old to step down and hand over to his deputy, Kusal Mendis.
The idea was to relieve Shanaka from the burden of captaincy and to help him focus on resurrecting his batting form. This would also give his successor time to acclimatise to his new position before the World Cup.
Shanaka agreed to step down at the end of the qualifiers but given his contribution as the captain, it was decided to retain him for the Asia Cup. Shanaka continued as his batting slump during the Asia Cup and pressure mounted on the selectors to take a call on his captaincy. He scored 54 runs in six innings, including a four-ball duck in the all-important final against India last Sunday.
But the focus was on him, although it was the entire team’s brain fade that resulted in an embarrassing 10-wicket thrashing. As cricket ‘experts’ on social media gave their two cents worth, cricket selectors found themselves in a catch-22 situation.
Shanaka hadn’t got the captaincy for being the best man for the job, to begin with. The selectors has seen in him someone who could unite a divided group of players and help Sri Lanka’s ascent. His relationship with his fellow cricketers is said to be warmer, closer and longer-lasting than was the case with Lasith Malinga, who publicly clashed with players as captain.
After taking over from Kusal Janith Perera, Shanaka has shepherded the team delicately. Both T20 and ODI teams showed signs of recovery, culminating and Asia Cup win, Sri Lanka’s first recent victory at a major tournament.
Even though his batting and bowling did not prosper as expected, Shanaka’s leadership was lauded by many experts as Sri Lanka won a title they had little hope of gaining at the start of the six-team tournament. Regarded as an all-rounder when he first arrived in international cricket, Shanaka has played the role of a specialist batsman in recent years.
The added responsibility of captaincy, however, has taken a huge toll on his individual performances. Shanaka has done decently well in leading the side, including 13 wins on the trot in ODIs, regardless of the opposing sides faced. Axing him might have seemed cold. But at the same time, his mere presence as the skipper in the side put the team under pressure as he wasn’t scoring.
This was the reason why a meeting was called this Tuesday between the selectors and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) hierarchy. Also present were members of the Cricket Committee, the Consultant Coach, Head Coach and the Manager. They wanted to find consensus on whether to remove Shanaka over his glaring batting failure. The question, however, was whether he could keep a place in the side once relieved of the captaincy. Based on his current form, the answer was a big ‘no’.
Chief Selector Wickremasinghe was adamant. With due respect to the player for his contribution as captain during a difficult time, Shanaka, he believed, should be relieved of the leadership role. This was deliberated for a long time. Even Consultant Coach Mahela Jayawardena had agreed with Wickremasinghe.
The next question, however, was how prudent it was to make this change just days ahead of a World Cup. And who should take over?
After a discussion of the pros and cons, it was decided to ask Shanaka to resign gracefully and to appoint Kusal Mendis as Sri Lanka’s new skipper. The names of Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga were floated before Mendis emerged as the frontrunner.
When this was intimated to Shanaka, he was ready to accept the decision of the selectors. But there was a dramatic U-turn by selectors the very next morning as they decided to retain Shanaka as skipper.
When the selectors met on Wednesday, the matter was deliberated further. Some selectors maintained that, should Shanaka be removed from captaincy, he shouldn’t be in the World Cup side at all–a fair point given his batting performances this year. (He has scored just 150 runs off 21 innings at 9.31 following his epic unbeaten 108 against India in January this year).
Another opined that he should be given a place in the side whether he leads it or not. A decision was then made to retain him as skipper for the World Cup while Mendis will deputise during the tour.
“We had three options. First to retain his leadership. The next was to remove him from the captaincy and then to play him as an allrounder. The third was to drop him from the leadership and from the side altogether. Finally we all agreed to give him the opportunity,” explained Chief Selector Pramodya Wickremasinghe.
However, Shanaka must perform to retain his place in the side. If he fails with the bat, he is likely to be benched as Sri Lanka did to Dinesh Chandimal in the 2014 T20 World Cup. It’s now in Shanaka’s hands. He can either remain or perish.