Chandimal, Tharanga to share captaincy as Mathews quits

Sri Lanka’s new Test cricket captain Dinesh Chandimal (R) and former cricketer captain Angelo Mathews (L) greet each other after a press conference in Colombo on 12 July 2017. Sri Lanka appointed two new captains 12 July to replace Angelo Mathews, who resigned after his side’s humiliating home series defeat to bottom-ranked Zimbabwe - AFP

By Madushka Balasuriya

Dinesh Chandimal and Upul Tharanga will share leadership duties in the longer and shorter formats of the game, with Chandimal being named Test captain and Tharanga taking over the reins in ODIs and T20s. 

The announcement comes after Angelo Mathews had stepped down from the role of captain in all three formats.

Mathews had hinted at the decision in the aftermath of Sri Lanka’s 3-2 series defeat to Zimbabwe earlier this week, which he called the “lowest point in my cricketing career”, but said that the result itself did not play a role in his decision.

“It was not an easy decision. It was also not down to the fact that we lost [to Zimbabwe] - yes, there had been significant poor performances, I’m humble enough to accept that - there were actually two reasons,” said Mathews at a media briefing at the SLC headquarters yesterday.

“In the past there were instances where I wanted to step down but I didn’t because I didn’t want to let the team down at that time, mainly because there were no replacements. Now, however, I feel it is the right time. 

“The team’s interests supersede my own, and now my honest opinion is there are candidates that can take over the reins and I’m pretty sure that they can be more successful than me. Also I wanted to give my successor enough time until the World Cup [in 2019] to build up a team.”

Chandimal and Tharanga each paid tribute to Mathews and the progress the team had made under him.

“It’s not an easy job as a captain in any team. Angi you’ve done a great job over the 4-5 years and we’ve learnt a lot from you as players and as youngsters. We will miss you as a captain, but we will be looking forward to being your teammate in the future,” said Chandimal, addressing Mathews directly.

“Thanks Angelo for all that you have done, you have been a good captain and a talented cricketer. You have done a lot for the country in terms of cricket, and I look forward to you playing for Sri Lanka for a very long time,” added Tharanga.

There were several highs under Mathews’ leadership, most notably series wins away to England and at home to Australia while in international tournaments Sri Lanka were crowned Asia Cup and World T20 champions. While Mathews led the team for nearly five years, most of those results however were prior to the retirements of the big three of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan since then quite often a case of two steps forward and one step back. It is believed that it was this inconsistency that led to the eventually untenable relationship between former head coach Graham Ford and the board. For Mathews too the tumultuous past couple of months clearly took a toll.

“This Sri Lankan team has not fulfilled its potential in the last several months. While I truly believe that this is not owing to the lack of skill, nor effort, nor the lack of commitment of the players, as captain I cannot turn a blind eye to the failures of our team during the last several months,” he said in a prepared statement.

While Tharanga’s promotion comes as little surprise, seeing that he deputised for Mathews in the recently concluded Champions Trophy in England, Chandimal’s is slightly more contentious. Chandimal was recently dropped from squads in the shorter formats, with Chairman of Selectors Sanath Jayasuriya even suggesting that he go back to domestic cricket to regain his form. Jayasuriya however was Chandimal’s chief defender in this instance, explaining that his position in Sri Lanka’s Test squad has never been in question.

“Yes he has had issues in the shorter form of the game, but these are temporary setbacks. Every player has these. In Test cricket we have never had issues with him.”

‘The only way is up’

A major talking point surrounding the team’s recent inconsistent form has been the overall levels of fitness among the players. Mathews admitted that this was an area which needed improvement in the long run, but stopped short of using it as an excuse for the series loss to Zimbabwe.

“We certainly agree we need improvements in our fitness department. There is no doubt about that. This of course can sometimes affect the performances. We’ve been working extremely hard, we’ve been given targets by the physio and I think almost every guy who played in the series has achieved their target. I don’t think they’ve failed the exam but yes we need to improve in our fitness department.”

Meanwhile, Team Manager Asanka Gurusinha said that while the team’s fitness levels were much improved, they need to be cautious of “overtraining” as a response to poor results and form.

“Training wise; they’re training very, very hard and sometimes I think they’re training so hard, we might have to look at that part as well and see if we’re doing it too much. Fitness is fine; we’re doing enough in fitness. It’s about trying to be smart now,” said Gurusinha 

“Sometimes when sides lose they try and do more and more training. Nic Pothas is not like that, he’s very good. If that is the case we can reduce a little bit, maybe some bowlers will be given more rest. We’re not going to reduce anything about fitness or fielding. We’ll still do it, but it will be short, sharp sessions.”

Gurusinha added that the team’s inconsistent form was the main thing that needed to be addressed at the moment, and everything was being done to identify the cause. Pressed further, Gurusinha noted that it stemmed from a poor mentality and not from any dearth in talent.

“After losing to Zimbabwe we’ve got to go up from there. This side is really too good to keep on this downward spiral. Such a talented team, they understand this as well. We need to raise the team’s confidence. I don’t think we can really fall much further than this. 

“The only way is up at the moment. At the moment we win one or two and then lose another three. This can be down to confidence and we have also spoken with the players to see what changes can be made - not technically but mentally - to prepare them better.”

Dhananjaya de Silva dropped for Zimbabwe Test

ESPNCricinfo: Allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva has been dropped for Sri Lanka’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe, which begins in Colombo on Friday. Batsman Kusal Perera and fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep will miss the game with injuries, while fast bowlers Vishwa Fernando and Dushmantha Chameera return to the squad.

Limited-overs opener Danushka Gunathilaka, meanwhile, made his first entry into a Test squad, thanks largely to his excellent ODI form over the past six weeks. Gunathilaka scored 323 runs at an average of 64.60 to top the run charts in the recent Zimbabwe series, and had also made 76 in Sri Lanka’s Champions Trophy victory over India, at the Oval.

Angelo Mathews, who missed Sri Lanka’s previous Test series - against Bangladesh at home in March - due to a hamstring injury that kept him out for several months in the first half of the year, also returned to the squad. Having quit as captain in all formats on Tuesday, Mathews will not be leading in a Test for the first time since 2013. It will be Dinesh Chandimal’s first Test as captain.

De Silva’s exclusion is surprising on two fronts. First, he had suggested he was a batsman of substantial promise when he top-scored in Sri Lanka’s triumphant series against Australia last year. Second, he has prospered against Zimbabwe in the recent past, making scores of 25, 64, 127 and 9 in four Test innings against them in October and November last year. De Silva was said to have suffered an ankle injury in the recent past, but is now fully fit and available for selection.

Despite Pradeep’s absence, the return of Chameera adds an edge to the seam attack. Between him and Lahiru Kumara, Sri Lanka have, for the first time in years, two bowlers who can consistently clock 145kph on the speed gun. Suranga Lakmal is the sole experienced hand from among the quicks, with left-armer Vishwa Fernando having only played one Test as well.

The spin attack, meanwhile, bore no surprises. Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera and Lakshan Sandakan made up the frontline contingent. Asela Gunaratne and Danushka Gunathilaka also provide slow-bowling options.

Niroshan Dickwella is likeliest to take the gloves, with Chandimal now captaining the side. The one-off Test begins in Khettarama on Friday, and follows Sri Lanka’s 3-2 defeat to Zimbabwe in the ODI series.

Squad Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella, Dimuth Karunaratne, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Asela Gunaratne, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Vishwa Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara