No light at the end of tunnel

– Two years have passed since Sri Lanka bid farewell to the last of their batting greats yet the South Asian side appears no nearer to ending what has been a difficult period of transition.

When the brilliant Kumar Sangakkara followed the equally prolific Mahela Jayawardene into retirement in 2015, even the most optimistic Sri Lankan fans acknowledged the void they left was simply too big to be filled overnight.

What they probably did not anticipate was that two years down the line the team would still be hopelessly in the throes of a seemingly interminable era of regeneration.

Once admired, even envied, for their steady supply of freak bowlers with bizarre actions and a near-invincible record at home, Sri Lanka’s recent humiliating 3-0 whitewash at the hands of India made for a particularly painful watch.

Only Kusal Mendis (above) and Dimuth Karunaratne offered fleeting glimpses of batting prowess but Sri Lanka were otherwise completely outclassed by the tourists in one of the most lop-sided series of recent times.

“Since I’ve been in this team, this is the worst series loss I’ve experienced,” Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal said after his team lost three matches in 11 days against their neighbours.

The debacle followed their first ever one-day series loss to Zimbabwe in July, which prompted a frustrated Angelo Mathews to relinquish the captaincy of both the test and one-day sides.

Mathews appeared to have sparked a revival last year when they whitewashed Australia but the 3-0 home win proved little more than a false dawn. –