Sports
Selectors need to take a look at team culture
There is a difference between taking unpopular decisions and making dumb decisions. Taking the wicketkeeping gloves from Kumar Sangakkara in 2006 in Test match cricket was an unpopular decision.
Backing Sanath Jayasuriya despite having scored one half-century in his first 50 ODIs was another unpopular decision. Handing the vice-captaincy of the national team to Mahela Jayawardene in 1999 sidelining several seniors was yet another unpopular move. The selectors had very good reasoning to make those moves and eventually got the support of the players and the public.
Take the case of current Chairman of Selectors Upul Tharanga. He debuted for Sri Lanka soon after the Under-19 World Cup but didn’t have numbers behind him in domestic cricket to justify his selection. But he was quite a sensation scoring six hundreds in his first year in international cricket. Five of those six hundreds came overseas as well in different conditions like Mohali, Ahmedabad, Christchurch, Lord’s and Headingly. Our cricket has progressed thanks to those men who were prepared to bite the bullet and make those unpopular moves.
Talking of not so clever selection moves, take for instance the call to give the cold shoulder to half a dozen seniors in white ball cricket in 2020 and then when things backfired to blame lack of skill levels among young players.
In the last three years Sri Lanka played three qualifying round tournaments to get though to ICC events and when they finished the recent World Cup ninth and were knocked out of the Champions Trophy the selectors blame poor fitness standards.
They had conveniently forgotten that they had been in charge for three years and had in fact introduced a highly publicized strict fitness regime before ditching it halfway through.
When you introduce policies you need to persevere with them. Sometimes you have to tinker it a bit or even perhaps completely overhaul it depending on circumstances and that’s understandable. But what is not on is using your policies selectively. That is why the national cricket team went from bad to worse in the last three years.
Club loyalties taking precedence over national interests is recipe for disaster and with the previous selection committee it looked an unwritten rule that all national captains had to come from SSC.
Given the amount of cricket that is played it was insane to limit the selection panel for just three members. Authorities need to explain why it was done so. Sanity has prevailed and now the selection panel has been extended to five members.
There is some criticism that most of the current selectors were active First-Class cricketers until recently. That criticism of course has no validity. Being involved in the sport until recently is in fact a good thing for you are aware as to who are the players who deserve a call up. Of course they are aware of the growing demands of the modern game and that’s an additional qualification. A recently retired cricketer is far better than someone who quit the game two decades ago and this certainly is a step in the right direction.
One reason why Sri Lanka has fared poorly in recent years is because there is a serious discipline issue within the team. Your Test captain is charged for drunk driving, and you soft peddle. Your white ball captain had been on bail for a similar offence, and you turn a blind eye. There is a problem with the standards you have set for your cricket team. Or maybe that if you are from SSC everything is forgiven.
The culture within the Sri Lankan team is not good. You should have fun of course but taking things for granted and easy-going is recipe for disaster. If Virat Kohli and David Warner can turn up when training is optional to sharpen their fitness and fielding why not you when you had to qualify for the World Cup. It is baffling indeed.
You find several players coming into the Sri Lankan side with all the right attitudes. But once they have joined ranks with the side they buy into that easy-going culture.
There is so much talk about the skill levels of Sri Lankan players being not all there at present. That maybe true but what is not true is that you don’t need skill levels to become a good fielding unit. You can get there by sheer hard work. This World Cup Sri Lanka dropped 16 catches, that’s almost two catches dropped for a game. In the last two T-20 World Cups, if not for dropped catches the team would have fared much better. The fielding woes need to be addressed at the earliest possible.
The selectors are set to introduce new captains and it seems they will have three captains for three formats. While doing that will keep several senior players happy, not sure whether our cricket is so rich with Mike Brearleys and Tiger Pataudis to warrant captains for each format.
There’s lot of cricket ahead in the new year. The key events will be the T-20 World Cup in the US and West Indies and the tour of England that includes three Test matches.
Given our history of poor injury management in recent times, the selectors have a lot in their plate. Upul Tharanga is known as a fair and unassuming character who sacrificed his own comforts for the sake of team. If he is able to drag the team from the current mess, he will be remembered for a long time to come.
The mighty haka echoed through the hills of Kandy as New Zealand’s Under-85 kg rugby team, a touring side from the land of the long white cloud, stamped their authority on Sri Lankan soil with a dominant 50–10 win in Nittawela. But the scoreline tells only half the story – this was a watershed moment for Sri Lankan rugby.
The clash marked the first leg of a groundbreaking two-match series, the first time a representative New Zealand rugby team has toured Sri Lanka. With a packed crowd and palpable buzz at Nittawela Stadium, the significance was not lost – this was more than a game; it was a celebration of rugby’s unifying power.
New Zealand’s precision, pace, and structure were evident from the kickoff. The visitors rolled through their phases like a well-oiled machine, opening the scoring through No. 8 Pasia Asiata and converting with aplomb. But what followed was more than just a try-fest – it was a masterclass in running rugby, with blistering counterattacks, clinical support lines, and seamless offloads lighting up the hill capital.
Sri Lanka, buoyed by home support, did have their moments. A well-executed rolling maul saw Dahan Wickramarachchi crash over, and veteran Nigel Ratwatte added five points off the tee. But for every local spark, the Kiwis had a storm brewing – Francis Morrison, Jarred Percival, and Eamon Reily led the charge as the men in black ran in tries with ruthless efficiency.
For Sri Lanka, the learning curve was steep, but the occasion was priceless. Hosting a side steeped in All Blacks culture, known for innovation and intensity, offers invaluable exposure and inspiration. This wasn’t just a rugby lesson – it was a statement that Sri Lanka belongs on the global rugby map.
As the teams gear up for the second leg, the scoreboard may favour the visitors, but the spotlight is firmly on Sri Lanka’s ambition. If the Tuskers can take heart and harness the experience, the long-term gain could far outweigh the immediate result.
Rugby fans across the island will be hoping this is just the beginning of more global giants setting foot on Sri Lankan turf.
by Carlos Van de Berg
Sri Lanka’s white-ball resurgence over the past 12 months has seen them punch above their weight and rise to fourth in the ICC rankings – a stunning turnaround for a side that not too long ago was scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Having missed out on qualification for this year’s Champions Trophy – finishing ninth at the cut-off and watching the bus leave without them – Sri Lanka have since tightened their shoelaces and hit the ground running. According to the ICC’s latest rankings update released in early May, Sri Lanka leapfrogged up the table thanks to landmark series wins against top-ranked India and reigning world champions Australia.
It’s been a remarkable comeback – like a team that once couldn’t buy a win now playing like seasoned campaigners. Credit must go to Sanath Jayasuriya, the swashbuckling former skipper who took over as Head Coach and made his intentions clear from ball one: raise the bar across all formats. From demanding peak fitness to lifting fielding standards out of the doldrums, Jayasuriya has instilled a no-nonsense culture, and the results are there for all to see.
Several players have raised their game, stepping up to the crease when the team needed it most. Pathum Nissanka blazed his name into the record books with the first-ever double hundred by a Sri Lankan in ODIs, while skipper Charith Asalanka became the rock in the middle order, often pulling the team out of the fire with match-winning knocks.
Maheesh Theekshana has spun a web around opponents to top the bowling charts, claiming the number one spot in ODIs. Meanwhile, Wanindu Hasaranga continues to be Sri Lanka’s golden goose – topping the all-rounder rankings and being hot property across franchise leagues worldwide.
In the T20 arena, the islanders have also upped the ante, climbing to seventh in the rankings and leaving Asian rivals Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan in their slipstream. Once champions of the shortest format, Sri Lanka now look like a team finding their groove again.
In Tests, too, there’s steady progress, with the team now placed sixth – a sign that the rebuilding phase is finally bearing fruit.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has rolled out the itinerary for the upcoming home series against Bangladesh. The bilateral contest kicks off with two Tests, the first at the picturesque Galle International Stadium from June 17, followed by the second Test at SSC starting June 25.
The ODI leg begins in Colombo on July 2, with the capital hosting the first two matches. The series then moves to Pallekele for the final one-dayer.
Kandy will set the stage for the opening T20I, before the caravan heads to Dambulla for the second. The third and final T20I will be played in Colombo, wrapping up what promises to be a closely-fought series.
From being down and nearly out, Sri Lanka have now thrown their hat back in the ring across all formats – and if this upward trajectory continues, the islanders might just be scripting another golden chapter in their cricketing folklore.
St. Servatius’ College all-rounder Viran Chamuditha and St. John’s College Jaffna speedster Kugathas Mathulan picked up three wickets each as Sri Lanka Under 19s pulled off 27 runs victory over Bagladesh Under 19s to keep the Youth ODI series alive.
The hosts restricted Bangladesh to 169 runs to record their second victory of the six-match series at the SSC ground. Now Sri Lanka Under 19s need to win the sixth Youth ODI to level the series. Bangladesh lead the series 3-2.
The hosts posted 196 runs thanks largely to skipper Vimath Dinsara’s 47-ball 42 runs and Aadham Hilmy’s half century. Hilmy anchored the tail with a 59 ball knock which included seven fours and a six. Suwahas Fernando and Kithma Vidanapathirana scored 28 runs each.
When Bangladesh camevto bat, Viran Chamuditha and Tharusha Navodya rattled the top order to leave the visitors struggling at 96 for five wickets at one stage. Bangladesh fought back through the efforts of their seventh wicket pair of Samiun Basir and Farid Hasan who put on 51 runs.
They were seperated by Kavija Gamage before Kugathas Mathulan returned to mop up the tail.
Scores:
Sri Lanka U19
196 all out in 42.3 overs (Suwahas Fernando 28, Kithma Vidanapathirana 28, Vimath Dinsara 42, Aadham Hilmy 51; Saad Islam 2/29, Rizan Hossan 2/30, Samiun Basir 3/35, Farhan Shahriar 2/05)
Bangladesh U19
169 all out in 45 overs (Rison Hossan 25, Md Abdullah 32, Debasish Deba 24, Farid Hasan 30n.o., Samiun Basir 37; Tharusha Navodya 2/30, Viran Chamuditha 3/26, Kugathas Mathulan 3/26)
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