Sports
Eran’s Achilles heel; the selectors
by Rex Clementine
The Cricket Transformation Committee headed by Eran Wickramaratne has received much praise for the manner in which it has gone about its business since being put in charge earlier this year. While bringing transparency and accountability to the affairs of Sri Lanka Cricket, an institution criticised for years over corruption and waste, the committee has also kept its eye on its primary task: drafting a new constitution for the administration of the game.
While most aspects have moved along smoothly, one area has seriously lagged behind; selection.
Selection is one of the most important cogs in the wheel of any cricket administration. The administrators may be doing wonders, but if those entrusted with picking teams do not live up to expectations, the whole machinery can come crashing down.
It is a little like the Yahapalana government that Eran himself was part of. It came in with good intentions, promising transparency, accountability and the wellbeing of the public. But the moment Arjun Mahendran was chosen to head the Central Bank, things began to unravel spectacularly. Is the same fate awaiting Eran’s cricket committee because of its selectors ?
Sadly, the harsh lessons from the West Indies appear not to have been learnt.
Although the Sri Lankan squad for the Test against India later this week has already assembled in Galle, the selectors are yet to announce the team to the public. We know, of course, that squads require the Sports Minister’s approval before they can be released. But some selectors have perfected the art of seeking approval at the eleventh hour, thereby conveniently escaping public scrutiny before a series begins.
Kapila Wijegunawardene surprised many when he picked Niroshan Dickwella in the Sri Lanka ‘A’ squad to face India in June. At a time when India were blooding 15-year-old wonderkids, our selectors were falling back on players in the twilight of their careers for an ‘A’ team. It was hardly evidence of forward planning. More worryingly, it gave the impression that the selectors were completely out of touch.
Being out of touch is one thing. Remaining so by choice is quite another.
If you have been away from the system for some time, there is no shame in consultation. Speak to those who have been around. Ask the coaches. Talk to recently retired players. Seek the views of people who watch domestic cricket week in, week out. Humility is no weakness when you are entrusted with shaping the future of the national team.
The manner in Dickwella has now been parachuted into the Test squad sends all the wrong signals.
Let us not forget why he was dropped in the first place. His wicketkeeping had become sloppy. Costly errors during the tour of New Zealand in 2023 contributed to him losing his place. Now, three years later, he finds himself back in the fold without having accomplished anything substantial enough to demand a recall.
The fact that Dickwella is 33 only strengthens the impression that Sri Lanka are moving backwards rather than forwards.
His selection becomes even harder to understand when you consider that the selectors did not play him in the warm-up game. The other contender, young Anjala Bandara, has been scoring heavily and was given an opportunity in the warm-up match. He failed there and was promptly discarded. That is hardly fair selection.
Bandara is 22 and certainly one for the future. Given the promise he has shown so early in his career, surely the sensible approach is to back him rather than punish him for one failure. That too at the expense of Dickwella. One problem that Sri Lanka’s batters have is that they are unable to bat for long hours. Bandara has shown that he has the patience to see off a couple of sessions.
Then there is Sadeera Samarawickrama. He kept wickets for Sri Lanka before the selectors handed the gloves to Kusal Mendis in order to balance the side. Sadeera hardly disgraced himself when he played Test cricket for Sri Lanka. If the selectors believe Bandara is too raw, would not Sadeera be the more logical choice?
There seems to be precious little logic in the selectors’ thinking. As Kumar Sangakkara once observed, like God, selectors move in mysterious ways.
There are also two prolific young batters knocking on the door in Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Pavan Rathnayake. The time is ripe for one of them to become part of the Test set-up. Why not play one as a batter when there are several wicketkeeping options already in the squad; Kamil Mishara, Nishan Madushka and Dinesh Chandimal?
And please spare us the excuse that none of them keeps wickets regularly for his club. This is a temporary arrangement until Kusal Mendis returns, not a ten year succession plan.
As for Dickwella, we have seen the full package over the years. He has played 54 Tests and there are claims that he remains the best wicketkeeper in the country. Some of us remain unconvinced.
A man who once carried that title with considerable distinction was Prasanna Jayawardene. He was a far superior wicketkeeper and into the bargain, scored four Test hundreds. Dickwella has none.
That is not because Dickwella lacks the skill to make big scores. Far from it. He possesses an abundance of talent. What has too often been missing is discipline. His attitude towards building an innings has repeatedly let him down.
Too often he has thrown away promising starts, harming both himself and the team. Successive selection committees persevered with him in the hope that he would eventually make the most of his considerable talent. That promise remained unfulfilled.
There have also been concerns about his influence within the team environment. Those who doubt that can consult team manager Mahinda Halangoda and draw their own conclusions. Then there was the suspension he received following a positive cocaine test in 2024.
Against that background, it is difficult to understand what exactly the selectors are trying to achieve by returning to Dickwella.
Sri Lankan cricket is supposed to be undergoing transformation. Transformation means looking ahead, identifying the next generation and giving talented young players the confidence that performances in domestic cricket will be rewarded.
It does not mean reaching into the cupboard and pulling out an option that has already been tried 54 times.
Eran Wickramaratne and his committee have done much to earn goodwill since taking charge. They should be careful that poor selection does not squander it. The Yahapalana government learnt the hard way that one disastrous appointment can undo a mountain of good intentions.
With friends like Kapila, Eran doesn’t need enemies.
Mohammad Rizwan and Imam ul Haq were questioned by Pakistan’s National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Lahore, as the fallout from Pakistan’s disastrous Test tour of England continued.
The two, who were in the group of seven players who were dropped from the Pakistan squad and sent back home after the defeat in the second Test at Lord’s, were sent summons to appear before the NCCIA. They appeared on Thursday. At least one of the players is believed to have been there for several hours.
It is not clear yet what the questioning was about, or whether it is related to the PCB’s own inquiry, which they announced earlier this week. The board did not name any players then but said it had “initiated an internal disciplinary inquiry following media reports concerning discipline and conduct, which are currently being reviewed internally”. That process, the board said, was being “conducted under PCB regulations”.
Cricinfo understands that at least one of the players has been given a questionnaire to respond to and return to the NCCIA next week.
At the end of the Lord’s Test, which Pakistan lost by 194 runs after losing the first by an innings and 103 runs, seven players as well as the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were removed from the squad. In their place, seven other players travelled to England, five of whom were uncapped at international level.
Rizwan’s form with the bat on this tour had been poor, with scores of 12, 41, 7 and 1, following low returns in two Tests in the Caribbean as well. His glovework, however, has been exemplary on both tours and until the West Indies series, he had been Pakistan’s leading Test run scorer since January 2024. But an ungainly hoick to be dismissed for 1 in the second innings at Lord’s attracted plenty of criticism.
Imam, meanwhile, was diagnosed with a grade-1 tear in his left calf after the conclusion of the first day’s play at Lord’s and did not appear on the field during either of Pakistan’s innings. On the final morning, during pre-game warm-ups, he came out to attempt some gentle knockdowns but struggled physically. Aaqib Javed, the PCB’s chief selector and director of high performance publicly questioned Imam’s injury and warned then of an inquiry into it.
In defending the squad changes, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi alluded to wider factors at play, without expanding. “We have had a discussion to ascertain the reasons behind it. They include factors beyond performance and we will get to the bottom of it.”
The selection of both the players for the West Indies and England tours was also the subject of a notice sent by the PCB to selectors after the Lord’s Test. The notice asked for a written explanation outlining the reasons for their selection and the process through which it was arrived at, within 24 hours of the receipt of notice. Misbah-ul-Haq, one of the selectors, resigned from the post following the changes to the squad.
[Cricinfo]
Soon-to-be world number one Elena Rybakina produced a gritty comeback against Coco Gauff to reach the US Open final, in which she will face Aryna Sabalenka in a blockbuster showdown between the tournament’s top two seeds.
Rybakina is guaranteed to end Sabalenka’s 99-week reign as world number one and will replace the Belarusian at the top when the rankings are updated on Monday.
But the Kazakh second seed could rub more salt in Sabalenka’s wounds if she can deny the top seed a third successive US Open title in Saturday’s showpiece.
Sabalenka sent a warning to her rivals as she overpowered home hope Jessica Pegula 7-5 6-2 to keep alive her bid to become the third woman in the Open era to win the New York singles title three times in a row.
Rybakina will stand in her way after she fought back to beat American fourth seed Gauff 3-6 6-4 6-4 and silence the partisan crowd.
“I took a deep breath and just told myself I needed to fight and show good tennis,” Rybakina said.
The 27-year-old is chasing her third Grand Slam title after winning Wimbledon in 2022 and beating Sabalenka in January’s Australian Open final.
It will be the first time the top two women’s seeds have contested a US Open final since Serena Williams beat Victoria Azarenka in the 2013 showpiece.
Aryna Sabalenka is the first player – male or female – to reach eight successive hard-court Grand Slam finals [BBC Sport]
Sabalenka has not been beaten in New York since losing the 2023 final to Gauff, but there were doubts over her title defence following a poor run-up to the tournament.
After a strong start to the season and winning the ‘Sunshine Double’ at Indian Wells and Miami in March, Sabalenka suffered a quarter-final defeat at Roland Garros and a fourth-round exit at Wimbledon.
However, she has found her form again, dropping just one set en route to the final.
“I was super desperate,” Sabalenka said after her win over Pegula.
“It feels for me, talking about Grand Slams, like a last push of the season.
“I wanted it badly to go to the finals, and of course, I want to go all the way.”
In a tense opening set, Sabalenka bristled with frustration early on as unforced errors crept into her game while Pegula settled quickly and struck the ball cleanly.
But eventually the four-time major singles winner found her rhythm and, after striking decisively at 6-5 to take the first set, she cranked up the power.
Pegula looked helpless as Sabalenka raced through the second set, with the Belarusian pounding 29 winners to her 12.
The victory meant Sabalenka broke the Open era record for the most Grand Slam hard-court finals in a row, with the 28-year-old reaching every major final on her favoured surface since the 2023 Australian Open.
For 32-year-old Pegula – the only semi-finalist without a Grand Slam title – it is yet another US Open defeat by long-time rival Sabalenka.
Sabalenka denied the third seed a maiden major in the 2024 final, while she also got the better of her in last year’s semi-finals – although Pegula had won their most recent meeting in June’s Berlin Open.
“I do think she probably would have beaten 99% of people,” Pegula said.
“Probably the best match she’s played this year.”
[BBC Sports]
India continued their unbeaten run and marched into their sixth final in six editions of the Women’s T20 Asia Cup after beating Bangladesh by 40 runs in an error laden semi final in Dubai.
After India were put in on a slow pitch, Shafali Verma scored 64 off 40 balls, making full use of the reprieves she got on 6, 11, 50 and 56. The knock helped India post a formidable 149 for 6 even though most other batters struggled for timing.
Juairiya Ferdous and Dilara Akter came out with positive intent but once the spin was introduced, they too felt powerless. India helped them by dropping four catches of varying difficulty, but Bangladesh did not have someone like Shafali to take advantage of those. In the end, they could reach only 109 for 7.
Shafali lives a charmed life
Marufa Akter was impressive once again with the new ball. Apart from her stock in-swinger to the right-hand batter, she also showed off her leg-cutter, which beat Shafali’s outside edge a couple of times.
Opening the bowling from the other end, off-spinner Sultana Khatun produced two chances in her very first over. Fahima Khatun dropped Shafali at long-on but Smriti Mandhana was not that fortunate. Shorna Akter caught her miscued aerial attempt at mid-on.
Shafali got another reprieve in the third over when Nahida Akter failed to latch on to a low chance at mid-on off Marufa. The batter rubbed salt into Bangladesh’s wounds by launching Sultana over long-off for back-to-back sixes in the following over. Despite Pratika Rawal struggling at the other end, Shafali’s fireworks ensured India finished the powerplay on 45 for 1.
Rawal and Harmanpreet’s toil
Rawal had opened her account with a classical off-drive for four off the first ball. She also launched Rabeya Khan for a six in the last over of the powerplay. But she struggled to rotate strike and could manage only 20 off 24 balls in the end.
Harmanpreet Kaur, too, found it difficult to get going. At one point, she was on 3 off 15 balls. As a result, India could score only 33 runs in seven overs after the powerplay.
Shafali continues to ride her luck
Shafali reached her fifty off 35 balls and then enjoyed some more luck. On the very next ball, she had a miscommunication with Harmanpreet. It should have been an easy run-out at the bowler’s end but Fahima fumbled the throw.
Shafali then pulled Sultana over deep midwicket for a six. She tried to repeat the dose on the next ball but Shorna dropped the catch. The ball burst through her hands, hit her on the face and trickled to the deep-midwicket boundary. However, she holed out to long-on in the same over, with substitute Farjana Easmin taking the catch.
Richa Ghosh (21 off 16) and Deepti Sharma (13 off six) injected some momentum towards the end while Harmanpreet finished on 24 not out off 28.
Ferdous and Dilara gave Bangladesh a steady start, with both batters hitting two boundaries each in the first three overs. But there were plenty of dot balls too, which meant the scoreboard read only 18 for no loss after three overs.
After that, Harmanpreet introduced spin from both ends and the scoring rate dropped further. Bowling the last over of the powerplay, N Sjhree Charani delivered a wicket maiden, making Ferdous her 50th T20I wicket.
Deepti does Deepti things
Deepti struck in her very first over. With the asking rate climbing fast, Ferdous tried to go aerial but holed out to deep midwicket. Nigar Sultana and Sobhana Mostary added 31 for the third wicket but consumed 34 balls for it.
Deepti ended the stand by castling Mostary. That triggered a mini-collapse with Bangladesh losing three wickets in 15 balls for 17 runs. Prema Rawat had Nigar caught at short third before Deepti bowled Sharmin Akhter to make it 83 for 5 in the 16th over.
India’s fielding woes
The result was all but sealed by then. But India, too, were sub-par in the field, right from the start. In the very first over of the chase, Rawal had dropped an overhead catch at cover-point to reprieve Dilara. Later on, she dropped Mostary at backward point. Mandhana misjudged a boundary catch as well, before Ghosh and Nandani Sharma collided while going for one near square leg. On another day, these mistakes could have proved costly.
Scores:
India Women 149 for 6 in 20 overs (Shafali Verma 64, Pratika Rawal 20, Harmanpreet Kaur 24*, Richa Ghosh 21, Deepti Sharma 13; Marufa Akter 1-40, Sultana Khatun 2-30, Nahida Akter 1-25, Rabeya Khan 1-22) beat Bangladesh 109 for 7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 21, Juairiya Ferdous 14, Sobhana Mostary 18, Nigar Sultana 19, Shorna Akter 22*, Fahima Khatun 14; Nandani Sharma 2-10, Shree Charani 1-14, Prema Rawat 1-21, Deepti Sharma3-26) by 40 runs
[Cricinfo]
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