Is the appointment of Jayasuriya and Tharanga beginning of a new partnership?

 Upul Tharanga and Sanath Jayasuriya during their world record first wicket stand of 286 against England at Leeds in 2006.

• A lot is at stake for new selection committee

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

With former Sri Lanka cricket Captain Sanath Jayasuriya expected to be appointed a full-time consultant by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), it will be the beginning of a new partnership with his former opening partner Upul Tharanga who has become the chairman of selectors in the five-member committee named by Minister of Tourism and Sports Harin Fernando on Monday.

Currently, another former Captain Mahela Jayawardene is the consultant coach of the Sri Lanka team, and speculation is that Jayasuriya’s position will be to overlook the coaching and fitness side at SLC’s High Performance Centre at Khettarama with current Consultant Tim McCaskill. According to SLC sources a clear picture defining Jayasuriya’s role will be made after he returns from Abu Dhabi where he has gone to witness the T10 final with Minister Fernando.

It is no secret that Minister Fernando and Jayasuriya have formed a strong alliance between them and the appointment of Tharanga as chairman of selectors could have materialised through it. After all, Jayasuriya is the Sri Lanka Tourism Brand Ambassador and has been travelling around the world with the Minister to promote tourism in the country. Having Tharanga as the chief selector could also give Jayasuriya some impact on selections.

Tharanga and Jayasuriya are best remembered for their world record opening partnership against England at Headingley, Leeds in 2006 where they pummelled the England bowling to the tune of 286 runs with Tharanga’s contribution being a boundary laced century off 102 balls (14 fours, 1 six) and Jayasuriya’s 152 off 99 balls (20 fours, 4 sixes). That opening stand saw Sri Lanka making light of England’s imposing score of 321-7 replying with 324-2 to win by eight wickets and with it complete a 5-0 whitewash of the five-match ODI series.

Ironically, it was 11 years later with Tharanga as Captain, Jayasuriya was forced to resign from his position as chairman of selectors with the rest of his committee comprising Ranjith Madurasinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Asanka Gurusinha and Eric Upashantha, after a 5-0 ODI drubbing Sri Lanka received at the hands of India at home.

Unfortunately for Tharanga his captaincy coincided with a lean period in Sri Lanka cricket, and he suffered the ignominy of captaining his side to three 5-0 whitewashes in 2017. His ODI captaincy record in 22 matches between 2016 and 2017 was four wins and 16 losses with two no-results.

Tharanga’s career has been that of a rather laidback cricketer shying away from the limelight. That is why his appointment as head of the selection committee comes as a bit of a surprise. It is said that he has a good head for captaincy and his inputs and knowledge of the game are second to none. His ODI record is among the best in Sri Lanka’s history. His 15 ODI hundreds are the fifth-most by a Sri Lankan batsman and his performance in the 2011 World Cup played a major role in the run to the final against India. Opening the batting his 395 runs came at 56.42 and included two centuries.

Since retiring from international cricket in 2021, Tharanga has continued to play first-class cricket for NCC and more often in T20 and T10 franchise leagues around the world. His new appointment and the responsibilities he has to carry with it may force him to quit from all levels of cricket.

Tharanga has a set of ex-Sri Lankan cricketers with him in the selection committee, some of whom he has played with and who are recently retired and have a knowledge of the current system - Ajantha Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Tharanga Paranavithana and Indika de Saram. It will be their obligation to steer the national team from where it has fallen, especially with the setback they suffered in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup in India. The first task of the new selection committee will be to pick the ODI and T20I sides for a home series against Zimbabwe next month. A lot is at stake in the upcoming series. Tharanga and his committee will have to decide whether they should make short term solutions or long-term solutions in the interest of Sri Lanka cricket. There is an ICC T20 World Cup coming up in seven months in the Caribbean and USA and the immediate focus will be towards preparing a team to meet that challenge as well. A short-term solution will be to satisfy the cravings of the cricket fans who want to see the team once again on a winning path. A long-term solution would be towards building a team for the future looking ahead at the next Cricket World Cup in 2027. The current squad of players are a highly talented bunch. All they need is international exposure so that, come the next World Cup they will be more than a handful.