Preview: What To Expect From Sri Lanka In 2017!

Jan 7, 2017 at 4:50 PM

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Preview: What To Expect From Sri Lanka In 2017!

Even though Sri Lankan cricket did not have any administrative issues in the season 2015/16 but they tried too many players, which has been the main issue for them.

Number states that in 2016 there were a total of nine debutants in Test cricket for Sri Lanka, eleven players in One-day cricket and a total of nine players in T20I cricket for them. None of them, except maybe, Dhanjaya de Silva looked up for international cricket.

This team showed a lot of haste in accelerating players from grade cricket to international. One of them being Avishka Fernando, who was called in the squad on basis of performance in junior cricket. Though it’s important to give exposure to a player but along with that, it’s quite crucial to see a number of first-class and List A games under a player’s belt.

This was the thing that Vishwa lacked and as a result, Mitchell Starc uprooted Vishwa’s stump on a duck in his One-day debut game. Vishwa looked out of sorts against Starc.

Showing some sort of intelligence while handing debut cap to a player is something which we can expect from Sri Lanka cricket. Wise decisions blended with a sense of responsibility is the key to success and that is a sort of thing expected from Sri Lanka. 

 

 

Plan with an eye on long-term goals – Sri Lankan cricket should have an eye on their long-term goals. Whilst experimenting and tinkering so many things, they forgot that Champions Trophy is just a few months away. Sri Lankan line-up looks the most unsettled roster currently with a lot of juggling to their squad. Selectors should stick with some players and should nurture them for long. Give them ample time instead of just rushing into the things.

Suranga Lakmal, who grabbed his first ever fifer in Test series against South Africa wasn’t sure of his future. This shows that selectors are always ready to experiment something new with the team, creating loopholes in the squad.

Bringing about a change in the team is not a bad idea but it should be done in a logical manner. Now, Lakmal has come up with an impressive show so selectors should invest in him. Give him time and if he fails, after let’s say six months, then drop him but judging on basis of a series or two is not an ideal decision to make.

 

 

Appoint a new captain – Angelo Mathews looks to subdued may be under because of team’s back to back losses on an overseas tours. The situation of Mathews is quite similar to M.S. Dhoni who has proved his metal in home conditions but the foreign tour is something where he struggles as the team gets fully exposed partly due to lack of quality seamers on those tours.

Though Mathews led Sri Lankan team crushed and whitewashed Australia in the home series but again the word ‘home series’ is something which marks the success of the team.

The team have to look for some permanent solutions and the way which can be done is to appoint a new captain, giving the team a new leader to free Mathews from the cobweb, which is eating him from inside. A new captain will allow Mathews to express himself freely and then the team can derive benefits out of him. 

 

 

The successor to Rangana Herath – Just like any other sub-continent team, spin has been the main weapon for Sri Lanka, whether playing in the sub-continent or outside. With Rangana Herath just two months away from celebrating his 39th birthday, Sri Lanka has to find a replacement for him soon as he might retire from international cricket any time and if he does that, it will leave a big vacuum in the Sri Lankan team. It is the best time when Sri Lanka can try out a new spinner in the presence of Rangana Herath as the new prospect will have a chance to learn from him.

When Herath retires for the first time in past 15 years, Lanka’s spin department will look weakest in world cricket.

 

 

Former greats as the coach of Sri Lanka team – If Jayawardene can coach England and Mumbai Indians, then why not Sri Lanka? (Personal view)

This can be the best thing for Sri Lanka as this team is going through a period of transition, a period which every team has seen in their time. Few teams were able to get over it while some like West Indies made a mess out of it and now we all know what happened.

This transition time is inevitable and a team has to deal with this with utmost seriousness and one way to deal with it is to get the guidance of senior players during this tough period. Deploying former greats to nurture the players can be the best way in which a team can deal with this tough time as those players have also undergone the change.

They know it how to convert challenges into opportunity, how to build a road to success and how to garner best. Working towards a solution to these issues will help them to be bold and strong during this transition period.

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