Picking players who do not have skills to play T20 cricket and then blaming them is not the right way to go

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Whenever the national cricket team’s performances dip below the average like it did against South Africa (SA) in the recently concluded T20I series, where Sri Lanka was whitewashed 3-0, there is a tendency to find scapegoats for the defeat.

To us, the defeat is nothing new; we saw it coming way back from the time the Sports Minister appointed the National Sports Council, the National Selection Committee and the Technical Advisory Committee to Sri Lanka Cricket under whose influence the present cricket selection committee was appointed. All what is happening today we had red flagged in a series of articles written over the past few months, which the powers that be, have chosen to ignore.

As far back as March 10 the Daily FT said: “The Minister went to great lengths to explain that the appointment of the cricket selection committee shall be done in concurrence with the National Selection Committee, National Sports Council and the Cricket Technical Committee. Isn’t the appointment of selection committees across 73 disciplines vested with the National Selection Committee? Aren’t selection committees expected to be “independent” and free of outside “influence”?

“If “selections” are going to be done with “consultation”, where is the “integrity” of the process? In the absence of “independence” can there ever be “integrity”? If this is how the apex body of sports in Sri Lanka is going to function, what is the example being set? Do we need to worry about playing sports in this country? Do the countries tilt towards allowing sinister elements lurking in the shadows “controlling” selection/s and the cricketing fortunes of the country? In fact, this exactly is the bane of Sri Lanka Cricket.”

There is no point in blaming the players on poor performances over selection blunders. Picking players who do not have skills to play T20 cricket and then blaming them is not the right way to go. You have to pick horses for courses. 

You take the top order – Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva are not T20 format players, Avishka Fernando maybe, but is a liability on the field. For the second game they dropped him and in the third match he was totally under pressure. Charith Asalanka, a player who is showing some promise in both limited over formats was also dropped. You keep picking and dropping players, where is the confidence? How on earth is Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the side and batting at no. 3, which is the most important slot in the batting line-up? The moment a half-fit Kusal Perera comes in, you see the difference in the batting. Kusal is in one corner and the rest of the batters are in the other. Where are we going with half-baked all-rounders like Chamika Karunaratne? The context of today’s cricket is specialist batsmen and specialist bowlers. If you have an all-rounder it is a bonus.

Dasun Shanaka, one feels sorry for him. He is totally out of his depth. The selectors first installed Kusal Perera as the white-ball captain, which was a blunder. Then they removed him and installed Shanaka, which was an even bigger blunder. On his footwork alone, Shanaka will not find a place in the side because he is weak against spin. It’s like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Wanindu Hasaranga has always been a highly overrated bowler. He has not bowled against the likes of the Virat Kohlis, the Rohit Sharmas, the Chris Gayles of this world. Those are the batsmen you have to bowl against and prove your worth. If you analyse the wickets that he has got, it has been on turning tracks.

We are not doing ourselves any favours by preparing imprudent wickets like this. Cricket is a batsman’s game, you must use proper surfaces and back our batsmen, because we have talented batsmen in this country. The administrators are losing sight of the fact that people watch cricket to be entertained. They don’t want to see batsmen scratching around the crease. In our desperation to win, we are destroying the entertainment value of cricket which will only turn people away.

In the first T20I, Chandimal, although he got 66 runs, his strike rate in the power play derailed the whole game. Out of the 120 balls in each of the three games against South Africa, Sri Lanka averaged 50 dot balls per game, which is close to 42% of unproductive balls. In a Test match today, teams go at 60-70 runs per 100 balls.

Danushka Gunathilaka and Niroshan Dickwella have to be in the mainstay of the side. But this so-called punishment that has been meted out to them, we are simply cutting our nose to spite our face. We are going for a T20 World Cup campaign with only one genuine fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera, and without even figuring out what our batting line up is. Where is the so-called planning of the selectors? It is their duty to look at the shortcomings and analyse the weaknesses, but here they seem to be completely out of their depth. Don’t be surprised if we don’t make it to the main event of the T20 World Cup.

By naming Akila Dananjaya amongst the four reserves for the T20 World Cup, are the selectors seriously going to play him and risk getting him called for throwing and ending his career? Dananjaya has received two ICC cautions and there was some controversy also over his selection during the South African series. Is Dananjaya being pushed by some influential people from outside? If he is an off-spinner, why is he bowling leg-spin? Have you got to be an authority on cricket to figure that out? He knows the moment he bowls his off-breaks there is a flaw and he could go over the permitted limit for arm extension. So, isn’t it foolish to go into a World Cup with a player who has a sword hanging over his head? He may get away with local umpires, but not in an event like the World Cup with international umpires. ICC allows replacements only for injuries but not for a player who is chucked out of the game.

Rushing Kusal Perera into play after contracting the COVID-19 virus is also a big risk. In the two matches he played he only batted but did not field. The first game because he was short of breath running between wickets and the second because he had a hamstring injury. One has to fear for his well-being because doctors are clearly saying not to exert oneself because nobody has figured out what this virus does to your vital organs.

Looking at what is happening around the country, it is no surprise that our cricket is not where it should be. We have to fix our country before we fix cricket. Cricket has become exposed beyond comprehension and the Sports Minister must face the consequences for its folly. He must take the responsibility for appointing the wrong people.

We are not a country that needs to be insulted like this on the playing field.

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