Sports
Selectors make ‘U’ turn after requesting Shanaka to step down
by Rex Clementine
The national selection panel that met yesterday made a complete ‘U’ turn having earlier requested captain Dasun Shanaka to step down in the lead up to next month’s ICC Cricket World Cup to be played in India. After Sri Lanka’s horrendous show in the Asia Cup final, where the team was bowled out for 50 runs, their lowest total at home, someone had to be scapegoated and Dasun Shanaka fitted the selectors’ bill.
The captain had been informed to step down so that a new captain could be appointed and accordingly Kusal Mendis was tipped to take over. Team management had endorsed Mendis highlighting him as the player who contributed most during team meetings. He was anyway deputy to Dasun in ODIs.
Although Dasun had expressed his willingness to step aside so that the selectors could make the change, the national selection panel decided to retain Dasun following a meeting yesterday.
While a section of the public had wanted the captain gone due to an extended run of poor form with the bat, some others had argued that axing the captain on the verge of an event like the World Cup wasn’t the most sensible move.
Had Dasun stepped down, he was in fear of not finding a place in the team as well as the selectors had wanted the new captain to make the call of having or not having the misfiring ex-captain in the team.
Despite the debacle in the final, Sri Lanka had done well to progress to the finals of the Asia Cup having beaten Afghanistan and Pakistan and Bangladesh twice. There were fears of the team not progressing beyond the first round after the bowling attack was completely depleted with injuries.
Although Dasun has been now retained as the captain, he will be under tremendous pressure to deliver following a string of low scores. Having said that, he was Sri Lanka’s best batter when the national cricket team toured India earlier this month.
Sri Lanka will leave for India next week and will be based in Guwahati where they will play two warm-up games against Asian rivals Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka’s first game of the World Cup is against South Africa on the 7th of October in Delhi.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has issued a statement approving the members nominated for the new Selection Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
The appointments have been made by the Sports Minister in accordance with the powers vested under Section 39 (1) of the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973 and the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2437/24 dated May 21, 2025.
The members of the new selection committee are:
Kapila Wijegunawardena – Chairman
Amal Silva – Member
Brendon Kuruppu – Member
Waruna Waragoda – Member
Vanessa De Silva – Member
The Democratic Republic of Congo has cancelled its pre-World Cup training camp in the capital, Kinshasa, because of an Ebola outbreak in the east of the country.
Preparations have been moved to Belgium amid the upsurge, which is thought to have killed more than 130 people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern”, but said it was not at pandemic level.
Jerry Kalemo, a spokesperson for the national football team, told international media that pre-tournament games in Europe would go ahead as planned, as the squad gears up for their first World Cup since 1974.
DR Congo are due to play friendly matches against Denmark, on 3 June in Belgium, and Chile, on 9 June in Spain, ahead of the World Cup finals.
A spokesperson for the DR Congo team told the Reuters news agency that the squad’s training camp had been cancelled due to travel restrictions imposed by the US, who are hosting the World Cup this summer, along with Mexico and Canada.
The US’ public health agency has banned entry from non-Americans who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, in response to the Ebola outbreak
All DR Congo’s players, as well as the team’s French coach, Sébastien Desabre, are based outside the central African country and will therefore not be affected by the restrictions now the training camp has been cancelled.
The high-profile event in Kinshasa was supposed to have been attended by fans, along with DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi, according to Reuters.
Kinshasa is roughly 1,800 km (1,120m) away from the eastern Ituri province, the epicentre of the Ebola outbreak. There have not yet been any reported cases in the city.
On Wednesday, the WHO said 139 people were thought to have died, out of 600 suspected cases. However, on the same day, Congolese health minister Samuel Roger Kamba told state broadcaster RTNC TV that authorities had registered 159 deaths.
(BBC Sports)
P M meets Sri Lankan community living in London
Kapila Wijegunawardena to head SLC’s new selection committee
Afghanistan refugee women’s team set for England tour under ECB initiative
DR Congo cancels World Cup training camp over Ebola outbreak
US charges Cuba’s Raúl Castro with murder over 1996 downing of two planes
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya meets Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features5 days agoSri Lankan Airlines Airbus Scandal and the Death of Kapila Chandrasena and my Brother Rajeewa
-
News6 days agoLanka’s eligibility to draw next IMF tranche of USD 700 mn hinges on ‘restoration of cost-recovery pricing for electricity and fuel’
-
News5 days agoKapila Chandrasena case: GN phone records under court scrutiny
-
News5 days agoRupee slide rekindles 2022 crisis fears as inflation risks mount
-
Features2 days agoOctopus, Leech, and Snake: How Sri Lanka’s banks feast while the nation starves
-
Business5 days agoExpansion of PayPal services in Sri Lanka officially announced
-
Features7 days agoMysterious Death of United Nations Secretary General Hammarskjöld
-
News5 days agoCourt orders further arrests in alleged USD 42 Mn NDB fraud case