by Rex Clementine

Sri Lanka’s Chairman of Selectors Kapila Wijegunawardene held his first media briefing yesterday since assuming office four months ago, a period in which several decisions have left the cricketing fraternity scratching their heads.

To his credit, the Chief Selector admitted that picking Lahiru Kumara for the tour of the Caribbean without first proving his fitness had been a mistake. It proved a costly one too, with the fast bowler breaking down after sending down just one over.

The former medium pacer was considerably more guarded when confronted with other contentious issues, including Dhananjaya de Silva’s defensive captaincy and the decision to recall Niroshan Dickwella after more than three years in the wilderness.

“We learned a tough lesson after what happened in the Caribbean with Lahiru Kumara and now we have made it mandatory for players to prove their fitness in domestic cricket when they come back from injuries,” Wijegunawardene told reporters.

That perhaps summed up the philosophy of this selection panel. Having burned their fingers once, caution appears to be the watchword. There seems little appetite for bold calls – the sort Duleep Mendis made when he gave Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana licence to tear into attacks during the field restrictions, or Sidath Wettimuny when he entrusted the vice-captaincy to a 22-year-old Mahela Jayawardene.

Ironically, as Wijegunawardene addressed the media, NCC were taking on Moors in a domestic T20 quarter-final right in front of his eyes at the SSC. One of those making an impression was seam bowling all-rounder Milan Rathnayake, who dismissed Dickwella for a second ball duck.

Wijegunawardene was duly asked why Milan had not been considered for the forthcoming tour of England.

Until now, the impression had been that the selectors were investing in Milan, giving the all-rounder sufficient international exposure with an eye on next year’s World Cup in South Africa. Suddenly, however, it appears to be back to square one, with Wijegunawardene indicating that the selectors have turned again to Dasun Shanaka for the all-rounder’s slot.

Shanaka has not played an ODI for more than two and a half years and has earned his recall largely on the strength of his T20 form. Yet he has repeatedly struggled to convince in the 50 over format, particularly if the selectors view him primarily as a batting all rounder.

This is where the selectors appear to have failed to do their homework. A proper analysis of Shanaka’s record would tell them that his batting has seldom been reliable enough in ODI cricket. The numbers tell that story quite clearly.

What the numbers will not tell you is that Dasun has instigated more bloodless coups than General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf put together.

University of Sri Jayewardenepura weightlifter Avindu Liyanagedara made history on Tuesday (08) by becoming the first Sri Lankan university student to win a gold medal at a World University sports event, as Sri Lanka made a spectacular start to the 2026 World University Weightlifting Championship in Doha, Qatar.

‎Liyanagedara won the men’s 60kg title, while Sabaragamuwa University’s Nipun Dissanayake added a bronze medal in the 65kg category on the opening day of the championship.

‎Liyanagedara lifted 105kg in the snatch and 132kg in the clean and jerk for an impressive combined total of 237kg.

‎Spain’s Gomez Martinez took the silver with 228kg, while Chun-Yen Tang of Chinese Taipei won bronze with 227kg.

‎Dissanayake also secured a podium finish in the 65kg class with a total of 220kg, comprising a 100kg snatch and a 120kg clean and jerk.

‎Iran’s Mohhadov Tehran won the gold with 289kg, with Moldova’s Ion Badanev taking silver with 288kg.

‎Liyanagedara’s achievement represents a landmark breakthrough for Sri Lankan university sport. His gold is the first gold medal won by a Sri Lankan university student at a World University sports event, while Dissanayake’s bronze further strengthened the country’s historic opening-day showing.

‎The Sri Lanka University Sports Association has entered five male and two female athletes for the championship, with University of Colombo’s Sujan Walgampaya serving as team manager and coach.

‎The championship continues in Doha until September 12, with Sri Lanka already assured of a memorable place in the history of World University sport through Liyanagedara’s historic gold medal.

Leah Poulton  the former Australia batter turned coach and administrator, will join England Women as managing director, succeeding Clare Connor.

Poulton will be charged with overseeing the success of the international team and pathways after the ECB cited her “impressive track record driving women’s cricket forward in Australia”.

Poulton earned 90 caps for Australia before retiring in 2015 and has spent the past six years as head of elite female cricket at Cricket New South Wales. There, she oversees cricket performance operations across two WBBL franchises, women’s state cricket and one of the world’s largest women’s cricket talent pathways.