Former Sri Lanka skipper and one or the stalwarts of the game, Mahela Jayawardene has stated that Sri Lanka always finds a way to do well in ICC tournaments irrespective of their form leading up to the 2019 World Cup. He said that their past performances in the World Cup will give them confidence in the showpiece event.
“I was trying to get my head around this, 4-5 wins gets you a semifinal berth, so Sri Lanka is looking at that option and will try to execute it each game at a time,” Jayawardene said on the sidelines of the ICC World Cup opening ceremony in London on Wednesday evening.
“I still feel they’ve got a very very good chance, form is not there but if they find that, it’ll be fantastic for them,” he added.
Sri Lanka was the champions of the 1996 Wills World Cup and also qualified to the final in 2007 and 2011. However, on both occasions, they came 2nd best to better teams on the day Australia and India respectively.
“Sri Lanka always finds a way to do well in world cups. Yes, there have been some changes to the setup, the captain (Dimuth Karunaratne) himself being one. He hasn’t played ODI cricket for a while but is a wonderful player,” the Mumbai Indians head coach said.
“They’re trying to bring some stability in the group, but there is still exciting talent in the team, and there are match winners in the unit. As long as the setup is there for them to go out and enjoy themselves and do well, they can beat teams.” Jayawardene added.
Many experts have felt that England will start the showpiece event as one of the favourites and there is a reason why many have picked England as the favourites. They have played some sensational cricket in the last two years and are aptly the No 1 team in the world at the moment.
“Over a six-week period, nine matches plus the playoffs. Can they be consistent? We’ll have to wait and see. As long as they can put the weight of expectations to the side, and as a team enjoy the cricket that they play, they do have a very very good chance,” he said.
“The brand of cricket that they played in the last two years, along with the group that they had, yes they are one of the favourites. But it’s a world cup, you still have to go and execute”, the 42 year old said.
