Chance for fringe players to press for places for WC Qualifiers

Nishan Madushka is being given a chance to cement a place in the national ODI team 

• Sri Lanka ‘A’ take on South Africa ‘A’ in 3-match unofficial ODI series

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

With the Sri Lanka squad for the ICC World Cup Qualifiers yet to be selected, the three-match unofficial ODI series between Sri Lanka ‘A’ and South Africa ‘A’ which will run concurrently with the Sri Lanka v Afghanistan three-match ODI series affords an opportunity for some of the fringe players to push for places in the national ODI team to Zimbabwe.    

“If there is an injury or some concern we are looking at who are going to be the immediate replacements if the national team needs them. In terms of the three unofficial ODIs that is what the selectors are looking at in the series,” said Sri Lanka ‘A’ team head coach Avishka Gunawardene looking ahead of the unofficial ODI and two-match unofficial 4-day test series against South Africa ‘A’ who are due to arrive today.

“The selectors are also giving the guys a chance to perform and put the guys up there under pressure by pushing for places in the national squad. The players know what they can achieve but I don’t want any of them to be under pressure to perform to get selected. My message to them is go out there and play your best cricket and give your 100 percent and perform. The rest is up to the selectors. But if you go with a mindset to try to perform to get selected to the national team, you put yourself under pressure.”

“The selectors haven’t picked the squad for the World Cup qualifiers yet. They will closely monitor the Afghan series and the ‘A’ ODI series which is going simultaneously. After that they will make the final decision on the squad that is going to Zimbabwe for the qualifiers.”

The three unofficial ODIs against South Africa ‘A’ will be played at Pallekele Stadium on 4, 6 and 8 June. However the two 4-day unofficial tests which were scheduled to be played at Dambulla have been moved. The first 4-day unofficial test will be played at Pallekele (12-15 June) and the second ‘test’ in Colombo (19-22 June) - venue to be finalised. Gunawardene said that the 15-member squad selected for the unofficial ODI series is based on the immediate replacements and whom the selectors are looking at next. “There are some guys whom we are probably working on for the next couple of years. It’s a mixture between youngsters and a few guys who had played a limited number of games, and some trying to get back into form.”

An interesting selection is the choice of Nishan Madushka for the white ball series. “I had a chat with the selectors and I think we can develop him to be a fifty-over white ball cricketer as well. The best way to try him out is this ‘A’ tour. Now that he has proven that he is good in the longer version we thought that we give him a ‘go’ in the 50 overs format as well and see how he fares.”

Gunawardene said Madushka is the best example of how a player can graduate to national level. “Madushka got runs in the domestic season. We picked him for the Emerging Squad and he got runs there. When we picked him for the ‘A’ team he got runs there as well. Then he got picked for the national team. He has proved himself in all those levels. That should be the path for anyone to follow but sometimes there are exceptional players who can be fast tracked. We sometimes get carried away by some of the cricketers whom we think are exceptionally good and fast track them. It’s important to recognise talent and put them in the path and bring them in at the right time. You know when they are ready to play international cricket, like Nishan Madushka for example. Within the space of three years he made it to the national level.”

Bowlers Dilshan Madushka, Pramod Madushan and Milan Ratnayake and batsmen Lasith Croospulle who has done well in domestic as well as against England Lions, Sahan Arachchige and Ashen Bandara who have been touring with national sides but not got a decent run are players whom Gunawardene expects to make use of the opportunity that is before them.

The inclusion of Lakshan Sandakan, Gunawardene said, is that the selectors are looking at a wrist spinner and he has been given the chance to see how he performs, as has Dilshan Madushka who has been slightly out of form. “Other than Sandakan the side is relatively a young side the average age would not be more than 24.”

“South Africa ‘A’ is a very strong side with at least eight Test players. It is always good to play against strong opposition because this is ‘A’ team cricket. When you play against good opposition it’s a good experience for our boys. England Lions also had 5-6 national players with them,” said Gunawardene who expects a good contest between the two sides.

“ ‘A’ team cricket is not only about results, we try out different combinations. But once we pick the eleven we play to win, but again winning is not the only objective in ‘A’ team cricket it’s all about finding out who our next replacements are.”

SRI LANKA ‘A’ SQUAD FOR ODI SERIES: Lasith Croospulle, Nishan Madushka (wk), Nuwanidu Fernando, Nipun Dananjaya (captain), Ashen Bandara, Sahan Arachchige, Lahiru Udara (wk), Dunith Wellalage, Janith Liyanage, Milan Ratnayake, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushka, Isitha Wijesundara, Lakshan Sandakan, Nimesh Vimukthi.