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Sri Lanka haven’t played international cricket since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020

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5 years ago

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Chamari Athapaththu: ‘Want more match time ahead of Women’s World Cup Qualifier’

Sri Lanka Women captain Chamari Athapaththu believes the postponement of the global Qualifier to determine the final three spots at the 2022 Women’s ODI World Cup from its June-July window to December is a “good thing”. Just for context, Sri Lanka, hosts of the qualifying event, haven’t had any form of international cricket for over a year now.

“To get an additional four-five months for our preparation is a good thing because we haven’t played any international cricket in over 13 months,” Athapaththu told ESPNcricinfo. “Things have been uncertain because of the Covid-19 pandemic and I was a bit worried that if the event went ahead as scheduled, we would have been underprepared. I hope that leading up to December we get a few more series apart from the one against Pakistan that our board is trying to organise.”

ESPNcricinfo understands that talks between SLC and the PCB about Pakistan potentially touring Sri Lanka for limited-overs matches before the Qualifier are only at a preliminary stage. Should they come to fruition, the series might be held only after May.

Both teams, along with West Indies, are among the sides part of the 2017/18-2021 Women’s ODI Championship who will vie for the three qualifying berths for the World Cup to be held in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3.

“Getting some match practice on a regular basis is going to be very important for us before the Qualifiers,” Athapaththu said. “Thailand’s debut in the T20 World Cup last year was proof of the kind of challenge teams outside of the top-ranked nations can present on the world stage. We cannot afford to take anyone lightly because it’s qualification to a World Cup that’s at stake.

“If there are long gaps [for teams] without any cricket for say a year or a year-and-a half, even the best look ordinary. I followed the recent series between India and South Africa. India are a top side, but they hadn’t played for a year, so they couldn’t play well. On the other hand, because South Africa had played some games before coming to India, they looked far better even in the absence of some of their senior players.”

Among a raft of world tournaments that the ICC has postponed due to the pandemic is the inaugural Under-19 Women’s World Cup. Originally scheduled for this year in Bangladesh, the tournament has been pushed back to January 2023. In Athapaththu’s assessment, the postponement will rob several deserving young players of the opportunity to play in the world tournament.

“We have a good bunch of Under-19 girls,” Athapaththu said. “The school cricket tournaments were on over the past few weeks and I think a few girls were on the radar as far as making the potential squad for the Under-19 World Cup was concerned. But, unfortunately, most of them will no longer be able to take part in it because a gap of two years is a sizeable one.

“Age-group tournaments come with age-related restrictions, so not having the tournament this year is a very disappointing thing for those young Sri Lankan girls and for me as an international cricketer. I feel bad for them because our qualifiers have also been postponed, but we will still get a chance [to compete in that tournament], but so many of these girls won’t. We will now have to look for pretty much a fresh bunch of girls to field in the 2023 edition.”

 

Athapaththu hits form in domestic

competition

Since the T20 World Cup last year, where Sri Lanka won only one of their four league games, the only opportunity Athapaththu has had to play any form of top-flight cricket was in the BCCI’s Women’s T20 Challenge in November in the UAE, where she was the leading run-scorer.

On the domestic front, she was part of the recently concluded Women’s Division One Tournament, the eight-team 50-over competition. Athapaththu, who plays for the Chilaw Marians Cricket Club, finished atop the tournament’s run charts with a 429-run tally in seven innings at an average of 61.29, striking at 120.51. The next-best strike rate, 69.49, belonged to Nilakshi de Silva, who took the second place on this list with 246 runs at an average of 49.20.

For the record, the Navy Sports Club, who were undefeated in the league stage, emerged champions after clinching a two-wicket victory over the Army A team in the final in Welisara on April 2.

Inoka Ranaweera, representing Navy, was the leading wicket-taker in the competition, with 25 wickets in seven innings, at an economy of just 2.27. Kavisha Dilhari, the 20-year-old offspin-bowling allrounder with 14 international caps to her name, finished in the top 10 on both charts.

“I am glad we were able to host the women’s inter-club tournament because several of our national-team players, seniors and youngsters alike, got a chance to shake off a bit of the rust,” Athapaththu said. “It also allowed many of us to assess how we are doing individually because we have been mostly training individually in our hometowns because of the pandemic, though we have had a couple of national camps since September last year. The Covid situation has been an obvious a hindrance to hosting games in Sri Lanka but it’s good to have got some competitive cricket this year.”

Although there are substantial Covid-19 restrictions still imposed by the government, with over 90,000 active cases, Sri Lanka has largely avoided the worst of the pandemic, and many aspects of life have returned to normal. The island’s Covid-19 death toll is just under 600.

In the recent past, SLC hosted the Lanka Premier League and a men’s Test tour, and has a schedule lined up for the men’s national team over the next three months. Athapaththu, who is currently training under her personal coach in Kurunegala, was hopeful that the Division One tournament would pave the way for more playing opportunities for Sri Lanka’s women’s cricketers, too.

“The inter-club tournament went well and Kavisha and many of the other national-team players expectedly did better than the others. If youngsters like her get more game time – on the domestic as well as international level – that will be good for the health of women’s cricket in Sri Lanka. SLC is trying to organise practice matches against Under-17 boys, so that, too, could help us.”


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‘Disappointing’ – Sangakkara on Sam Curran turning out for Surrey with IPL still on

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6 hours ago

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2026/05/31

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Sam Curran has returned to competitive cricket at the men's Vitality Blast [Cricinfo]

Sam Curran missed IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals (RR) with a groin injury, and Kumar Sangakkara found it “disappointing” when the allrounder turned out for Surrey in the men’s Vitality Blast on May 22 to mark his return to action.

As far as Sangakkara was concerned, England-contracted Curran had a “season-ending injury”, even though the player himself had said at the time of his withdrawal from the IPL – the news became public on March 19 – that he would return “whenever it feels right”.

“We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two games or three games now. So that was disappointing,” Sangakkara, RR’s head coach, said at a press conference after RR exited the IPL in Qualifier 2 on Friday. “We would have loved to have had him here playing for us.”

Since Curran, who had been acquired by RR as part of a trade with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with Ravindra Jadeja in exchange for Sanju Samson, had communicated his inability to play to RR in advance, Dasun Shanaka was brought in as a replacement on March 23, which led to its own set of problems, as Shanaka had to withdraw from his deal with Lahore Qalandars in PSL 2026 to join RR and was banned from the tournament for a year as a result.

Curran, playing as a batter only and scheduled to not bowl in Surrey’s first six Blast fixtures, has played three games so far and is their top run-scorer at this stage with 141 runs from three innings. When he opted out of the IPL, he had said that he had managed the groin problem throughout the T20 World Cup earlier this year. “It’s an injury that I’ve kind of been battling with a little bit,” Curran was quoted as saying in British media. “It has gradually got fractionally worse. I went for a couple of scans and it showed reasonable damage, so I had to make the tough decision. It was hindering me quite a bit.”

The question has come up from time to time when overseas players have chosen not to honour their IPL commitments, and in September 2024, the BCCI announced a two year ban on players who pulled out after being picked at IPL auctions.

“Yeah, I think a proper tight policy around that is always a requirement. The BCCI has a strict policy on that,” Sangakkara said. “Injuries, every person goes through injuries, and if it’s a serious injury, a season ending injury, of course we understand.”

Sangakkara, however, seemed to indicate that injured or not, he would have liked Curran to be around the RR set-up in what would have been his first season with the team.

“We’ve also had players like Adam Milne, Shimron Hetmyer, quite a few who came here and not had much of a game; Lhuan-dre Pretorius is another one, Kwena Maphaka is another one. They’ve been here, they’ve done the hard yards, they’ve practiced, they’ve carried water for the team, and they’ve really worked as hard as anyone else to support the team in this journey,” Sangakkara said.

“It’s really up to that individual player to decide whether they want to come or not, but I think the BCCI policy around it is very strict now, and that’s the way it should continue. It should be very strict to make sure that contractual obligations are met properly and genuinely, and I think every side in the IPL will benefit from that.”

[Cricinfo]

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PSG beat Arsenal to win back-to-back Champions League titles after shootout

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6 hours ago

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2026/05/31

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Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain lifts the UEFA Champions League trophy after victory in the final [Aljazeera]

Paris Saint-Germain held their nerve in a cagey Champions League ⁠final to retain the title by beating Arsenal 4-3 on penalties as Saturday’s nail-biting showdown ended 1-1 after extra time, cementing the French side’s status among Europe’s modern greats.

Arsenal defender Gabriel blasted his spot kick over Matvey Safonov’s crossbar at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, his miss confirming PSG as the first club to retain the trophy since Real Madrid completed their ⁠three-year reign from 2016 to 2018.

Long dismissed as glamorous underachievers despite vast resources, the Ligue 1 champions have now forged a dynasty under Luis Enrique, marrying attacking brilliance with resilience to establish themselves as the dominant force in European football.

“It’s stronger than last year because we knew before the match just how difficult it would be to play against Arsenal,” said Enrique, whose side had ⁠thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 a year ago to claim Europe’s elite trophy for the first time.

“As a club and a city, it’s incredible to win, and I think we deserved it over the course of the season. The final was a real battle,” added the Spanish coach.

The outcome left Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice devastated but proud as his side finished their European campaign without losing a match, aside from the shootout defeat in the final.

“It’s gutting. It’s devastating to lose a Champions League final on penalties,” he said. “But we try to take a lot of perspective from how far we’ve come as a group.

“An incredible season. ‌Given it absolutely everything up until this point. We took the game to penalties. It’s a lottery.”

Eleven days after celebrating their first Premier League title in 22 years, Arsenal looked set for a maiden triumph on Europe’s biggest stage after Kai Havertz’s sixth-minute opener and a first hour spent smothering PSG’s vaunted attack.

However, the final in the Hungarian capital became chaotic, once PSG’s Ousmane Dembele equalised with a penalty in the 65th minute, the pace turning frantic before exhaustion took the match to a shootout.

Under Enrique, PSG have won the six shootouts they have contested, with the 56-year-old winning 12 of the 13 one-off club finals as coach.

After brushing aside Premier League opposition on their way to the final by eliminating Chelsea and Liverpool, PSG were facing a much sterner test against an Arsenal team playing their second Champions League final after losing to Barcelona in 2006.

Mikel Arteta’s side took the ⁠lead when Marquinhos’ clearance bounced off Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard into the path of Havertz, who raced into the box and fired into the roof of ⁠the net.

He is the fourth player to score in two different European Cup or Champions League finals with two different clubs.

It was the nightmare scenario for PSG – trailing so early against the best defence in the competition.

Arsenal lived up to their reputation as the best team without the ball and looked perfectly content with the script, doubling up on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and suffocating the usual danger posed by the Georgian magician on the left flank.

PSG’s Fabian Ruiz was ⁠unable to impose his usual rhythm in midfield and, despite monopolising possession for long spells, the French side struggled to carve out clear-cut chances.

By half-time, PSG had attacked 32 times, Arsenal three.

Arsenal, however, were flirting with the boundaries with their challenges and Cristhian Mosquera brought down Kvaratskhelia in ⁠the area, with Dembele converting the penalty to equalise with his eighth goal in the competition.

The momentum had shifted.

Jurrien ⁠Timber and Viktor Gyokeres replaced Mosquera and Martin Odegaard. Arsenal had a more attacking mindset but were exposed to PSG’s counter attacks and at the end of one of them, Kvaratskhelia sped into the box, only for his left-footed effort to crash onto the outside of David Raya’s post.

After controlling the tempo in the first half, Arsenal played into PSG’s hands as the pace increased significantly, giving too much space to Kvaratskhelia or Bradley Barcola, who replaced the Georgian winger with ‌seven minutes remaining.

In the 89th minute, PSG came close to giving the final an abrupt end as Vitinha’s shot grazed the top of the net. Barcola also shot over the bar after a counter attack, with what would have been the last kick of the game.

With both teams having run out of steam, extra time was a cautious affair and when referee Daniel Siebert blew his ‌whistle, ‌Arsenal had only managed one shot on target.

Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze missed his penalty before Raya saved Nuno Mendes’ attempt. Gabriel had to score to keep the Gunners’ hopes alive but, facing PSG’s end, he fired over.

The French side were left to celebrate being European champions once again, with extra-time substitute Lucas Beraldo’s goal in the shootout proving to be the winner.

[Aljazeera]

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Home comfort vs championship pedigree as Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bengaluru collide in IPL 2026 final

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7 hours ago

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2026/05/31

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Gujarat Titans (GT) will be thrilled to play the IPL final at their home ground in Ahmedabad. Just that they will not be able to get there till deep into the night on Saturday. Thunderstorms in Chandigarh delayed the team from flying out, meaning they wouldn’t even have spent 24 hours in the place where they’ll have to find a way to win an IPL title.

Speaking of which, once upon a time – and for a very long time – IPL finals used to be held at the home venue of the previous year’s champions. So Royal Challengers (RCB) could have been the ones looking forward to a bit of home advantage. But something, somewhere went wrong. And now it is GT who go in with that ace up their sleeve.

And as much as the old rules do not apply to this RCB – not when their batting line-up dovetails so wonderfully, and their new-ball bowlers have been so devastating – there is some small precedent to consider. They lost to GT in Ahmedabad in the league stage, bowled out for 155. They’ve won only three of their seven away or neutral games in IPL 2026. All of that can be tossed into the wayside if any of their match-winners come off. Five of them did – the entire top five – in Dharamsala just a few days ago to put up the highest score ever seen in the playoffs. From going 18 years without a title, RCB could win two back-to-back. For the last eight straight IPLs, the team winning Qualifier 1 has gone on to become champion.

GT’s campaign has been built on the hard work of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj; in particular the unstinting way they attack oppositions in the powerplay. Both quicks have been encouraged to go pace-on. Both quicks have been remarkable at assessing the vulnerabilities of specific batters. Both quicks have the potential to break the game early. GT have a strike rate of 16 this season, the best of all the teams (at an economy of 9.49) and it gets better when they play at home – 13.5 (economy of 8.72). They’ve converted a fourth playoff appearance in five years into a third final in five years. A second title in five years is well within reach.

Three of Tim David’s last five innings have ended in single-digit scores and a strike rate under 100. You wouldn’t qualify that as a slump though, given his innings against Punjab Kings during the same sequence. He was 2 off two at the start of the 17th over and finished 28 off 12. David just needs to connect one ball to send several out of the ground.

Jason Holder has been an impeccable addition to the GT line-up, his bowling enabling them to frontload their Test-quality fast bowlers and retain flexible use of Rashid Khan. On top of that, Holder himself has picked up 17 wickets at an economy rate of just 7.54. The extra bounce that he generates, even on Indian pitches, has been telling.

RCB will likely bring Phil Salt back in if he’s ready to go but even if not, Venkatesh Iyer has filled in very nicely.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer/Phil Salt,  Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt),  Krunal Pandya, Tim David, Jitesh Sharma (wk),  Romario Shepherd,  Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood,  Rasikh Salam, Jacob Duffy/Suyash Sharma

GT have had the middle-order question thrown at them over and over and it will be done one last time. In Qualifier 1, when Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan failed, they lost. Badly.

Gujarat Titans (probable): Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar,  Nishant Sindhu,  Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia,  Rashid Khan,  R Sai Kishore,  Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna,  Mohammed Siraj

[Cricinfo]

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