Lanka’s downfall no surprise
HARD TIMES Turmoil in board, poor fielding, bizarre selection, lack of a leader with vision have all contributed to Lankan cricket’s rapid decline
There’s anger and rage at Sri Lanka’s embarrassing first-round exit in the Asia Cup and the team’s horrendous performance was discussed at the Parliament on Thursday with Sports Minister Faizer Mustapaha coming in for intense criticism. He promised to fix the mess but how he gets Sri Lankan cricket out of its lowest point remains to be seen.
The five-time Asia Cup champions’ collapse isn’t sudden. Last year Sri Lanka suffered a firstever Test defeat to Bangladesh, lost an ODI series to Zimbabwe for the first time and were whitewashed 5-0 by South Africa, India and Pakistan. This year, they failed to make it to the finals of the tri-nation Nidahas Trophy conducted to celebrate the country’s 70th year of independence. Just before the Asia Cup, they lost a five-match home series to South Africa with two ODIs to spare. Of the 29 ODIs they played last year, Sri Lanka won only five and that saw them fall to No 8 in ODI rankings. At one point, they were in danger of not automatically qualifying for 2019 World Cup. In T20s they are ranked 9th, below Afghanistan. Increasingly you get the feeling that once a proud cricketing nation is going the West Indies way. This year, out of 12 ODIs, Sri Lanka have won five.
NO CONSISTENCY
Sri Lanka’s slump is attributed to several reasons. First, there’s been lack of consistency. In the last three years, the team has had five captains, five head coaches, four batting coaches and four selection committees. At the same time, the board has changed thrice. That should give our readers a fair idea about the chaos. Sri Lanka have tried out several opening combinations with little success and often the team has failed to utilise their quota of 50 overs. Sri Lanka were the pioneers of making most of the Powerplays. The present team doesn’t have too many players who can utilise field restrictions.
The mid 90s was the golden era of Sri Lankan cricket. When they won the Asia Cup in 1997 comprehensively beating India, Ravi Shastri at the post match presentation asked Sachin Tendulkar what was a safe score against Sri Lanka. The India captain said, ‘Maybe 1000!’ Now they are struggling to post 150. On the same tour Tendulkar said: “I have not seen Don Bradman, but I have seen Sanath Jayasuriya.” Those were the glory days of Sri Lankan cricket.
POOR FIELDING
Fielding excellence was something that Sri Lanka were proud of when they dominated cricket. They were easily the best fielding side in Asia and they were on par with the likes of Australia and South Africa in the global stage.
The present team is the worst fielding unit in Asia. They dropped four catches in the Asia Cup against Bangladesh and one against Afghanistan. Less said about their running between the wickets the better it is with three run outs in those two games spelling disaster. And captain Angelo Mathews was involved in two of them.
WRONG COMBINATION
Sri Lanka’s successful teams over the years had a seven-four combination. Among the seven batsmen, there were two who could bowl — Aravinda de Silva and Jayasuriya. Their current combination is four batsmen, three all-rounders and four bowlers. That has been one of the main reasons for below-par scores.
Sri Lanka’s batting efforts throughout the Asia Cup was painful to watch. They were bowled out for 124 in the first game, their lowest against Bangladesh. Against Afghanistan, they managed only 158.
Injury prone Mathews only plays as a batsman. That upsets the balance of the side. A slow fielder and a poor runner between wickets, there have been calls back home that Mathews should only play Tests.
BETTER IN TESTS
Dinesh Chandimal, the Test captain, has impressed many. Sri Lanka have fared better in Tests in the last 12 months where they have won three series, drawn one and lost one.
They are ranked sixth in Tests. However, Chandimal didn’t cover himself in glory in the Caribbean where he brought the game into disrepute by refusing to take the field demanding the umpires to show evidence after being charged with ball tampering.
BIZARRE SELECTION
Sri Lanka’s selections also have been bizarre. Already the team has several slow movers on the field and on top of that they decided to recall 36-year-old offspinner Dilruwan Perera to make a comeback after more than a year. Bangladesh were under pressure losing two wickets in two overs and with opener Tamim Iqbal injured, virtually they were three down in the Asia Cup opener. Then Perera put down the simplest of chances at square-leg with Mushfiqur Rahim on 10 and he went on to post a career-best 144.Constant shuffling of the batting order has been another area that has cost them. Kusal Mendis has done a decent job batting at number four, but he was made to open in the Asia Cup when they already had Kusal Perera, who could exploit the field restrictions. Mendis failed in both innings and the team never recovered. Most of their troubles are self inflicted.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
The departure of big three – Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and TM Dilshan in the space of 18 months created a huge void. Those were huge boots to fill. The likes of Upul Tharanga and Angelo Mathews were expected to take up the mantle. But they have failed to show up.
They have also mismanaged their talent. Lahiru Thirimanne was one of the successful players in the 2015 World Cup which he finished with an average of 50. He was also the understudy to Mathews. A couple of poor series saw him being sidelined. Dinesh Chandimal suffered the same fate, but has fought his way back into the ODI side.
NEED LEADER WITH A VISION
Sri Lankan cricket could have been better served with a leader who had a vision. Take the case of Sanath Jayasuriya, who needed 40 ODIs to score his maiden halfcentury. Ranatunga was under pressure to drop the left-hander. But he persevered with Jayasuriya and that paid rich dividends. Jayasuriya’s 28 ODI hundreds are still the most by a Sri Lankan. Perhaps, it is time for Arjuna to take charge.