Team selection for Bangladesh put off till report on Nissanka injury

Dushmantha Chameera celebrates a wicket before walking off the field with an injury in the first ODI against Afghanistan

• Injury prone Dushmantha Chameera continues to be an enigma

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

From where Sri Lanka were at the end of the 2023 Cricket World Cup and where they are now today three months down the line there has been some vast improvements in all three departments of the game more so in the batting that was a sore point that contributed towards the number of defeats.

Having identified where the batting went wrong Sri Lanka started to prepare flat batting tracks for the two-home series against Zimbabwe which comprised three ODIs and three T20Is and against Afghanistan comprising a one-off Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. That Sri Lanka won all five series was in itself an achievement from the level they had fallen to.

There was a time even their most ardent supporters deserted them and certain individuals with vested interests tried to use the defeats to gain power of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). But with Sri Lanka once again hitting a winning streak the crowds have started to flock in their numbers with all tickets being sold out in the white ball matches involving Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.

Despite Sri Lanka’s success there is a certain amount of work to be done if they are to pose a serious threat in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA.

To be frank, Sri Lanka beat two teams that are ranked below them in both ODIs and T20Is. In ODI rankings Sri Lanka are currently 7th whereas Afghanistan and Zimbabwe are ranked 9th and 12th respectively. In T20I rankings Sri Lanka are placed 8th in comparison to Afghanistan (10th) and Zimbabwe (13th). So, there is not much to crow about the victories Sri Lanka achieved other than for the fact that it has lifted the team’s morale to a greater degree from what it was.

Now that they have started to win, Sri Lanka will need to keep that momentum going in the upcoming series in Bangladesh next month which will be their last testing ground before the ICC T20 World Cup. But there again they will be coming up against a team that is ranked below them in ODIs (8th) and T20I (9th). The three-match T20I series will give both sides the opportunity to test each other’s strengths before they meet again in the T20 World Cup group game in Dallas on 8 June. 

Sri Lanka’s true test will be in their T20 World Cup opener which is against South Africa in New York on 3 June.

What the recently concluded series against Afghanistan highlighted was the fielding although it has improved immensely from what it was during the Cricket World Cup, was not consistent with catches being put down under pressure and ground fielding sometimes ragged. The death bowling too was a concern with too many wides being given away.

Wanindu Hasaranga, the Sri Lanka T20I skipper highlighted the facts when he said, “We need to improve our death bowling. We bowled 11 wides today (in 3rd T20I). We cannot make those kinds of mistakes. We are still improving. We didn’t have some of our key bowlers as we wanted to take a look at some of the other bowlers.”

“We have seen how when we play on good surfaces our batters perform. Some mistakes were there but they rectified those mistakes. I want to see the team improve on fielding. Before we go to the World Cup we have three months and we need to keep working on our fielding.”

Sri Lanka’s cause of concern for the Bangladesh T20I series which kick starts their tour on 4 March is the fitness of their prolific opener Pathum Nissanka who was forced to retire hurt with a hamstring strain during the third T20I against Afghanistan. A final decision of his availability will be taken after the national selectors receive an update of his injury from the UK where all the medical reports concerning his injury have been sent for assessment to a surgeon. It is understood that the report does not indicate anything serious, but Nissanka seems to have a pain in his leg.

“Pathum played three ODIs and had little rest. T20Is we played after one rest day. In 12 days, we have played six games. It’s quite demanding. He is fielding in tough areas too. If you can give more rest to the players, it will be great,” said Hasaranga.

One of the players who made good his intentions was Kamindu Mendis when Sri Lanka decided to rest some of their regulars and decided to test their bench strength for the third T20I against Afghanistan.

“Kamindu Mendis is a fantastic player. That’s why he is in the squad. He showed what he is capable of. It is good to have such a competition. It was a rare opportunity and he grabbed it with both hands,” said Hasaranga on Mendis’ valiant knock of 65* off 39 balls that almost won the match for Sri Lanka.

In the meanwhile, fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera continues to be an enigma as far as Sri Lanka’s white ball cricket is concerned. He limped through his eighth over in Sri Lanka’s first ODI against Afghanistan and it has been confirmed that he has injured his left quadriceps which rules him out of cricket for at least six weeks.

Chameera is regarded as Sri Lanka’s spearhead in white ball cricket, but he has never been able to fully fulfil that role spending most of his time recovering from injuries rather than being on the field.

Fast bowler Asitha Fernando came as replacement for Chameera for the remaining ODIs against Afghanistan and Binura Fernando replaced him for the T20I series.

The Sri Lanka T20I team for the three-match series against Bangladesh has not yet been finalised due to these injuries.