Where in other formats, Sri Lanka have had brief shining moments in the past few years, their T20I returns have been consistently modest. Since the start of 2022, there has not been a single calendar year in which Sri Lanka have won more T20Is than they have lost. This, despite some of their oppositions through this period not being especially highly-ranked.

(Sri Lanka arrive at this World Cup in now customary disarray. A captain has been switched. Or more accurately, circled back to [Dasun Shanaka had led Sri Lanka before, but had given up the captaincy to Charith Asalanka, who in turn was ousted to make way for Shanaka’s return.]  Selectors have tried options out of nowhere and ditched them almost as fast. The coach and support staff are operating under pressure. In the last few months they have been beaten by Zimbabwe, trounced by Pakistan and in their most recent series, at home, England have been all over them.

Sri Lanka batting coach Vikram Rathour has hailed middle-order batter Pavan Rathnayake as one of the finest players of spin in the modern game, saying the youngster’s nimble footwork and velvet touch were a “breath of fresh air” for a side long troubled by the turning ball.

Drafted in for the second T20I after Sri Lanka’s familiar struggles against spin, Rathnayake looked anything but overawed by England’s seasoned tweakers, skipping down the track with sure feet and working the ball into gaps with soft hands.

“He is one of the better players when it comes to using the feet,” Rathour told reporters. “I haven’t seen too many in this generation do it as well as he does. That is really impressive and a good sign for Sri Lankan cricket.”

Sri Lanka went down in a last-over nail-biter but there were silver linings despite the hosts being a bowler short. Eshan Malinga was forced out after dislocating his left shoulder and has been ruled out for at least four weeks, a blow that ends his World Cup hopes. Dilshan Madushanka, Pramod Madushan and Nuwan Thushara have been placed on standby.

Power hitting remains Sri Lanka’s Achilles’ heel and Rathour, who carries an impressive CV from India’s T20 World Cup triumph two years ago, pointed to a few grey areas in the batting blueprint.

“There are two components to T20 batting,” he said. “One is power hitting, but the surfaces here, especially in Colombo, are not that conducive to clearing the ropes. The wickets are slow and the ball doesn’t come on to the bat. The other component, just as important, is range as a batting unit.”

Even when Sri Lanka lifted the T20 World Cup in 2014 they were not blessed with a dressing room full of big hitters, relying instead on sharp running, clever placement and a mastery of spin. Rathour preached a similar mantra.

“If you are not a team that hits a lot of sixes, you can still find plenty of fours by utilising the whole ground,” he said. “Most of them sweep well, reverse sweep and use their feet. That is encouraging. If you don’t have the brute power, you can make up for it by using angles and scoring square of the wicket.

“These wickets perhaps suit that style more. They are not the easiest surfaces to hit sixes, and I’m okay with that. If they can use their feet and the angles well, that is as good.”

Rex Clementine
at Pallekele