Winds of change
Shyam Impett hails recent performances that have transformed Sri Lankan cricket
It was sad to see the Lasith Malinga-Nuwan Kulasekera era come to an abrupt end. While we were aware of ‘Mali’s’ retirement, ‘Kule’s’ sudden announcement in such an unceremonious fashion left many cricket fans heartbroken, to say the least. Many arguments followed these announcements. ‘Give him a game,’ shouted some fans. ‘He deserves his 200,’ yelled another lot. ‘We haven’t seen him,’ cried some others. I was worried we may even have a few protesting with pitchforks in front of Sri Lanka Cricket’s headquarters.
But one thing is clear – everyone is going to miss the duo.
Some may take solace in the thought that Malinga will play – and may even captain Sri Lanka – until the T20 World Cup next year. However, one can’t feel the same way about the ‘smiling paceman’ Kulasekera.
He was blown into complete obscurity after his last game against Zimbabwe in Hambantota in July 2017. It was hoped that Kulasekera would be picked for at least one series given the number of injuries to our pace bowlers over the last two years; but he wasn’t seen on the cricket pitch after that.
Though Kule’s felicitation at the last game in the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh series was rather lukewarm, one can’t say the same about his career. A superstar from day one, he rose to the occasion many a time. Be it with the bat or ball, you knew that whenever Kule was playing, Sri Lanka had a chance.
The legacy he leaves behind will celebrate a man who did wonders for his team and country when the odds were stacked against us. It will talk of a class act by a man who wore his heart on his sleeve, smiled and walked away.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka as a team seems to be gelling very well. The ICC Cricket World Cup wasn’t the worst outing, and they had a great series against Bangladesh and savoured a series win after a long time.
The brew that was concocted a few months ago seems to have finally found its flavour. I believe that Avishka Fernando was the best discovery during the World Cup. He bats like he’s been doing it for years. Fernando oozes confidence and looks like he’ll become a great player in the future. But one can only hope that the ‘cooks’ don’t mess too much with the current recipe.
Winning becomes a habit when a team plays together. Familiarity, consistency and confidence can only be built that way. The seniors are looking settled; and the youngsters are playing well alongside them. Seeing how we have gradually improved over the last three months or so gives us hope for the future. It is great to see everything coming together.
Angelo Mathews has been in his element, Dimuth Karunaratne is a calm yet confident captain, Kusal Perera was in excellent form in June and July, and the rest played the shorter version
of the game extremely well. This well meshed team is a pleasure to watch, which makes me wonder what on earth we were doing over the past three years.
One wonders if the departing Chandika Hathurusingha finally got the mantra right; or is it that the selectors got it right? Either way, Sri Lanka seems to be in the midst of an interesting phase… and a good one at that.
It would be grand if the team is allowed to stay together without too many changes. The fans have also enjoyed watching the Sri Lankans, knowing full well that we have a good thing going.
So let’s not complicate things by chopping and changing the composition of the squad too much.