Hasaranga reveals secret to B-Love Kandy’s success

The new Lanka Premier League champions B-Love Kandy celebrate their victory

Player of the Final Angelo Mathews (B-Love Kandy)

Player of the Tournament Wanindu Hasaranga (B-Love Kandy)

 Runner-Up Dambulla Aura skipper Kusal Mendis

• “We were able to buy the best players at the auction, that’s why we won”
• Talks of value experienced players bring to the team

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

With their inspirational leader Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out of the final along with several other key players who were also injured would have demoralised any team coming into the decider of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), but not so B-Love Kandy, who used that setback to motivate themselves to beat favourites Dambulla Aura by five wickets and with it become the new holders of the title.

It was B-Love Kandy who brought to an end Jaffna Kings’ three-year reign of the LPL when they defeated them in the Eliminator, and quite so deservedly went onto win the title.

How important Hasaranga’s presence in the team was can be gauged by the fact that he was the leading batsman (279 runs) as well as the leading wicket-taker (19 wickets) of the tournament in addition to his dynamic leadership qualities to lead from the front. He had the rare feat of winning both the Green Cap (highest run-getter) and the Orange Cap (highest wicket-taker).

Hasaranga was confident he could play in the final despite suffering a hamstring injury to his right leg which saw him guiding his team to the final on Saturday against Jaffna Kings virtually on one leg. But he was stopped from doing so by Sri Lanka Cricket in the best interest of his value to the national side. 

“Even today’s final I was prepared to play even with one leg but because of the Asia Cup and the World Cup I was not given permission to play by Sri Lanka Cricket,” said Hasaranga after the final. “That was the right decision because unlike playing in the league, representing your country comes first. So I accepted that decision and decided not to play.”

“Whether I played in the final or not was another matter. I brought the best players who were available at the auction. That is why we were able to win the final even without me. Sometimes even if I had played I may not have performed. That is what cricket is all about. At the auction I ensured we took experienced players because last year after winning 7 out of 8 matches we couldn’t reach the final. That happened because we were short of experience. When you play in the T20 league, experience is needed to win matches.”

“When you have senior players, young cricketers like me also have a lot to learn from them. Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal are two players whom I believe can serve Sri Lanka cricket for a few more years. If you look at today’s game (final), the way Angelo Mathews displayed calmness and, despite the number of dot balls, managed to play his part from the other end and finish the match. If we have players like him in the national team we will be able to win many matches and our youngsters will be able to learn a thing or two from them.”

Explaining the decision to open the batting with Kamindu Mendis, Hasaranga said: “With so many players injured I had no option but to open with Kamindu whom I regard as the best young cricketer who can play both red ball and white ball cricket. That is why I picked him at the auction because I know he can win a match for you easily. Despite the injuries we had, I am happy with the squad we picked.”

Hasaranga said that B-Love Kandy was able to bounce back after losing the first two matches of the tournament because of the experience they had in their team.      

“Experienced players like Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Asif Ali, Isuru Udana and Nuwan Pradeep did their part, that’s why we won this final.”

Hasaranga said that his advice to young players is to give value to the game they play. “If you give value to your game you will also be similarly rewarded.”

B-Love Kandy received $ 100,000 as champions and Dambulla Aura $ 50,000 as runner-up.

About his availability for the Asia Cup, Hasaranga said, “I cannot say whether I will be fit. From tomorrow (Monday) I am getting treatment on my leg. After scans only I can tell whether I will be able to play.”

The Asia Cup starts on 30 August, eight days from today and Sri Lanka’s opening fixture is against Bangladesh at Pallekele on 31 August.