Pakistan ‘A’ a big challenge: Coach Rumesh Ratnayake

Sri Lanka ‘A’ team coach Rumesh Ratnayake

Dananjaya Lakshan

Lahiru Samarakoon

Mohamed Shiraz

•  Mohamed Shiraz to undergo fitness test after COVID-19
• Dananjaya Lakshan ruled out of series with knee injury

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq 

Sri Lanka ‘A’ will start the unofficial series (2 tests and 3 ODIs) against Pakistan ‘A’ without talented all-rounder Dananajaya Lakshan who has been ruled out with a knee injury which may require arthroscopy surgery.

Lakshan, 23, has been in the radar of the national selectors ever since he caught the eye during the inaugural Lanka Premier League last year where he displayed his latent all-round talent as a left-hand bat and right-arm medium-fast bowler by claiming 13 wickets and scoring 77 runs and, helping Galle Gladiators enter the final. He won the Emerging Player of the Tournament award.  

“Lakshan has a knee injury and he might have to go through arthroscopy surgery. It will take about a month or a month and a half. Since he is young, we think he has a great future so we thought we better leave him out for this series,” said Sri Lanka ‘A’ team coach Rumesh Ratnayake.

Lakshan has been replaced in the 22-member squad by 24-year-old Lahiru Samarakoon, a similar all-rounder from BRC.

Another player who has to prove his fitness before the commencement of the series against Pakistan A is 26-year-old right-arm fast bowler Mohamed Shiraz also from BRC.    

Ratnayake is confident that Shiraz will pull through and be available for the series. “Shiraz was struck down by COVID-19 last month and has recovered. He is awaiting a fitness test which is the 2 km run and skinfold on 12 October. He is a fit boy and he is almost through. It’s just that we want to be 100% sure.”

In the event for some reason Shiraz is unable to do the particular test for fitness, his place will be taken by Chamika Gunasekara, a 21-year-old right-arm fast bowler from NCC.

The Sri Lanka ‘A’ team will be leaving for Kandy today and commence practices at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium from tomorrow (Sunday).

Speaking of what they will be up against Ratnayake said, “It’s a big challenge; the Pakistanis I know their talent, what they have, what they possess. You have to be up to it. To give our players good exposure there’s nothing better than Pakistan. They have the best bowlers of pace. Our boys in the ‘A’ team are skilled but they will have to up their tempo. It’s the attitude, mindset, intent, everything.”

Sri Lanka will be playing an ‘A’ team series after two years, the last one having taken place in October 2019 against Bangladesh ‘A’. This gap which was largely due to the advent of COVID-19 pandemic Ratnayake said was “a huge miss because that’s our development phase and our structure”.

“The ‘A’ team is a feeder for the national team; it’s a very important area. I’ve always felt that ‘A’ team was a development phase. We have to look at the development wholly, not individually,” said Ratnayake. “What is the need of the national team, what is the quality which is needed in fielding, batting, bowling? Can we upskill the boy better as well as discipline him? It’s a huge need. Holistically it should be a player who goes there mature than address things which are not mature. You need to finetune the player as much as you can to go to the next level.”

Ratnayake said the selectors’ mindset was to look at the future and that is why they had selected a young squad of players whose average age was 24. “They haven’t had any ‘A’ team tours for two years so this is the ideal opportunity to give these players a chance, which is quite good.”

“For the national players they are looking at the option of the local tournament going on for them to come back. There are about four players who are almost sure of their places; it’s a matter of them topping up whether it is bowling loads or it’s a matter of them coming back into form. We are flexible at any point to accommodate them if the selectors feel that they should come in,” Ratnayake said.

Pakistan ‘A’ are due to arrive on 21 October and commence the tour with the first four-day unofficial test at Pallekele on 28 October.

Jayantha Seneviratne, the former Bloomfield captain and president and Sri Lanka cricketer has been named the manager of the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, a role he has fulfilled in the past.