Key takeaways from Sri Lanka’s World Cup Campaign

By Sheraj Obeyesekere 

With Sri Lanka officially out of contention to make the semi-finals of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, views on what could have been done differently are surely set to come through across all social circles. When it comes to cricket, almost every Sri Lankan has an opinion, but it’s important to be realistic. 

The fact that the team has managed to stay relevant, this deep into the competition is commendable. Considering that many, both in Sri Lanka and in the cricketing fraternity around the world expected Sri Lanka to fold fast. 

A couple of washed-out games gave the team two crucial points, which played a part in making this deep run possible. The performances against England, Afghanistan and now the West Indies at Cricket’s biggest stage, offers somewhat of a consolation to the lows that the Sri Lankan team has gone through in the past couple of years. Bowling was set to be a bit of a weak link heading into the tournament but has emerged as the stronger department – regardless of the batsman piling on 338 against the West Indies. 

When all is said and done, I reckon the world cup performance will be a fair reflection of where Sri Lankan cricket is at the moment. We are probably ahead of the Windies and Afghanistan, can beat any team on our day, but we lack the consistency. One of the biggest risks Sri Lankan cricket would face, if we do not start moving up the rakings is the emergence of another Afghanistan. 

Associate nations have made a fair amount of noise in recent years, and the possibility of one breaking into the top 10 remains very real. Ireland will improve with exposure to test cricket and Zimbabwe will be there or there about. It was not long ago that they beat Sri Lanka in a series. Consolidating on the positives of this World Cup and moving up the rankings in the coming years is therefore very important for Sri Lankan cricket. And we cannot get complacent. 

The emergence of Dimuth Karunaratne as a reliable batsmen at the top of the order has been one of the biggest positives for Sri Lanka during this tournament. The context at which he was drafted into the side was not ideal, but he has clearly shown enough both on and off the field to suggest that he can lead Sri Lanka for a few years if he manages to stay fit and healthy. 

This finally puts an end to an issue that has haunted Sri Lankan cricket for the past couple of years, which is securing a long-term captain for the team that commands the respect of players and fans. The Sri Lankan captaincy has been a revolving door but Dimuth seemingly puts an end to that. 

Avishka Fernando has shown that he has enough talent and confidence to be a key piece in the Sri Lankan unit going forward. How he is managed however, will be crucial. Giving him a clear run-in will be important. Not exposing him to a leadership role too early (which has been overwhelming for some young Lankan players in the past) and letting him thrive in his role as a batsman should be the way forward for the time being. 

His stroke play and purely his confidence offers some real reason to be optimistic. Should he be groomed for a purely one-day specialist role to manage his workload and get the best out of his skills? Should he be empowered to play in a couple of foreign T20 competitions to grow his game? Making the right choices on Avishka going forward will be crucial. 

In the bowling department, with all due respect to Dhananjaya de Silva and his improvement as a bowler since making it to the side, the fact that Sri Lanka had to settle for a part-time spinner as the main spin bowling option during the tournament was fairly disappointing. It completely took out an element of the Sri Lankan bowling attack that has worked so well for Sri Lankan sides over the years. 

It is true that English pitches are generally more suitable for quicks. But a Sri Lankan team should have their best spinner in the playing eleven at all times, regardless of which part of the world the game is played in. Dhananjaya did have a couple of reasonable performances, but the lack of a spinner as a strike bowler was quite evident at crucial moments. Especially, when other teams effectively used specialist spinners during crucial moments throughout the tournament. 

Going forward, grooming a quality specialist spinner will benefit SL Cricket both in the one-day game and in the longer format. Identifying this spinner is the first step. If England saw something and made the most out of Adil Rashid, if New Zealand can groom Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi into formidable spinners, surely, we have a reasonable spinner in our ranks that can be groomed for a long-term role. 

It’s also quite likely that Sri Lanka will struggle to fill the void left by Lasith Malinga when he decides to retire from the game. In more ways than one, Malinga’s career will be defined by the way he ended it. Fans will remember him as a former champion that stood by the team and fought as hard during the bad times. He isn’t the bowler he used to be, especially physically, yet he has managed to add tremendous value to the team and is still our strike bowler. He keeps fighting and carrying Sri Lanka but he cannot go on forever. We have known this for some time.

Looking at the current crop of fast bowlers available, it’s hard to see this void being filled anytime soon. Considering this, Sri Lanka will probably have to opt for role players in the fast bowling department with three to four bowlers with very specific roles and styles of bowling, rather than seeking and grooming one strike bowler.  England and even India have done this very effectively. If you do not have a strike bowler, variation in the fast bowling attack will probably help fill that void to a certain extent. Not everybody is Pakistan or Australia with an abundant supply of extremely talented fast-bowlers. Smart teams have realised this and made the most out of role players and variation. 

Not the end of the road 

Looking for a reason to be optimistic about the future? Look no further than hosts England. English cricket (in limited overs) was in shambles after the end of the 2015 world cup, but ECB brought about some radical changes to its set up, how the team was managed and the way the players approached the one-day game. 

They took a good look at the domestic circuit and picked a set of players that fit the kind of identity they wanted to create for the team. One-day specialists were picked while the likes of Ian Bell, Anderson and Broad were phased out of the ODI set up. The new players were given time and during the first few encounters after the 2015 world cup, hints of the New England were evident. The approach had shifted and more importantly, you could see that everyone involved, the authorities, coaching staff and the players were all-in on this new approach and identity. 

One key point to note in England’s strategy though, is that they did not try to change the mindset and approach of the English players that were in the side at that time. They picked new players that they thought had the potential to deliver their new positive approach to batting and variation in bowling. 

Sri Lanka too could take a similar approach. Decide on the approach going forward and pick players that they think are best suited to this approach. These players will not be ready from the first game, it will take time, but back them. Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow etc were not ready either. They were virtually unknown at the time. They did not come good from day one but they all were given the right amount of empowerment to deliver, and a clear run-in. 

Sri Lanka too can take a similar approach. Deciding the approach and identity of the new team and a thorough assessment of the present pool of cricketers in the domestic circuit will be the first step for Sri Lanka after the world cup. In 2023 the World Cup will return to the sub-continent and if we play our cards right and strategise early, we could be a contender in India.