Sports
Bold selections must be lauded
Sri Lanka were in India in 2005, when their selectors brought in a wicketkeeper to the fold. Dinesh Karthik had already established his place in the side so people were actually wondering what was the need to bring in someone who was rarely heard of. Kiran More the Chairman of Selectors said that despite being not known too well, he had seen something special in the wicketkeeper. He was confident that this bloke would go onto make an impact in the game. Well, he had more than just an impact in Indian cricket winning the 50 over World Cup, 20 over World Cup and getting India to number one rank in Test cricket. M.S. Dhoni is his name.
Kudos to Pramodaya Wickramasinghe and his selection panel for some bold selections they have done in recent weeks. When Lasith Embuldeniya was injured and his understudy Duvindu Tillekeratne was also on the mend, the next in line was Prabath Jayasuriya. But he failed the skin fold test placing the selectors on a sticky wicket. The easier option would have been to go back to the tried and tested Malinda Pushpakumara. However, rather than going backwards, they were forward thinking. They backed young Praveen Jayawickrama and it paid off.
Praveen had played a handful of First Class games. Against a team that plays spin well, this must have been a real hard decision to hand him his Test cap, especially with Lakshan Sandakan in the squad. But the selectors were convinced that Praveen was good enough to succeed at the highest level and they were proved right. His was the best debut by a Sri Lankan bowler and in fact the tenth best debut in the history of the game.
Prior to this, the selectors had made another tough call in handing Pathum Nissanka his Test debut in the Caribbean. Despite having Roshen Silva in the squad, instead of going for experience, the selectors backed youth and Nissanka went onto become the first Sri Lankan to score a Test hundred on debut overseas.
Fitness of players have been a huge concern over the years and the selectors have done well to demand players show commitment and to leave out those who do not meet minimum fitness standards.
The performance of the national cricket team in white ball cricket has not been up to scratch in recent years and the selectors have been bold in axing half a dozen seniors and bringing in new blood. Their initiatives need to be commended as Sri Lankan cricket is looking to regain past glories.
(Cricbuzz)
The remainder of the tenth edition of the PSL has been moved to the UAE amid escalating border tensions between Pakistan and India. The PCB has said that the dates and venues of the remaining eight games in the PSL 2025 season would be officially confirmed in due course.
On Thursday, Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi were due to play a game at the Rawalpindi Stadium, which was rescheduled following an emergency meeting. At the meeting, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with overseas players in the league, who overwhelmingly expressed a desire to relocate the league to the UAE.
ESPNcricinfo understands that foreign players are already on their way out of Pakistan to the UAE, where the rest of the league will be played. It is likely to be several days before the next game is played as the PCB works out which venues to play the games at.
The original schedule would have seen four of the remaining games in Rawalpindi, one in Multan, and the final three in Lahore. An earlier update from the PCB had said the league would be rescheduled, but did not confirm at the time it would be taken out of Pakistan, with Karachi considered a likely option.
The PSL, now in its tenth season, is familiar with the UAE, having started there back in 2016. It was played there in full – barring the PSL 2017 final – for the first two seasons. Part of season six, in 2021, also had to be played in the UAE because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Any delays to the PSL are likely to impact Pakistan’s international calendar, too. Bangladesh are due to arrive in Pakistan three days after the PSL final, originally slated for May 18, with the first of five T20Is to begin on May 25 in Faisalabad. The PCB told ESPNcricinfo that no decision had yet been taken on the fate of that series.
(Cricinfo)
Bangladesh Under 19s won the six-match Youth ODI series 3-2 after the final Youth ODI against Sri Lanka Under 19s ended without a result due to rain at the Colts ground on Thursday.
Sri Lanka came to the final match with the hope of leveling the series but rain prevented a full match.
Deciding to bat first, the visitors were 188 for three wickets in the 40th over when rain prevented further play.
Skipper Azizul Hakim led Bangladesh with 94 runs inclusive of seven fours and two sixes. For the hosts, Tharusha Navodya, Kugathas Mathulan and Himal Ravihansa took a wicket each.
Sri Lanka Under 19s won the opening encounter by a big margin but three consecutive defeats thereafter saw the visitors take command. Sri Lanka Under 19s bounced back in the penultimate match to keep alive the series but rain spoilt their plans in the final encounter.
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