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There is the small matter of final-phobia, seemingly induced by pressure, but captain Dinesh Chandimal is not a man to back away from a challenge, even when he is outmatched. As the team prepares to leave for Bangladesh, he embraced the hopes that have been heaped high upon them, instead of downplaying Sri Lanka’s prospects.
“There’s a lot of expectation among the fans that we will win the tournament as well, and even within the team, there is a belief that we can win this,” Chandimal said.
“We played in Bangladesh for two and a half months, so we have some experience on how the wicket is behaving there and also when the dew factor comes into play. Most of the players in the World Twenty20 squad played in the Bangladesh tour, so that’s a big advantage.
“It’s a great opportunity, but we can’t take it for granted. We will have to put in a lot of effort, and take it from game to game - first working towards the semi-final. We have some things up our sleeve. We have a game plan for each team. Everyone is set for the short format, and we’re looking forward to that.” Sri Lanka have England, South Africa and New Zealand in their group, in addition to a yet-to-be-determined qualifier, and though Chandimal acknowledged the fickle nature of Twenty20 cricket, he felt his team were well-placed for the group stage.
“There’s a big advantage in our group, because out of the four teams, three aren’t very familiar with subcontinent conditions. But we don’t take any team lightly. In Twenty20, a match can turn in one or two overs. But we have plans for each team, and we’ll use that.”
Perhaps the most obvious chink in Sri Lanka’s game, has been Chandimal’s own Twenty20 form. He averages 13.36 in the format - worse in the past 12 months. Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya suggested team management would back Chandimal to the hilt in the tournament, but Chandimal himself did not warm to the notion of moving to a preferred spot up the order to improve his output.
“I’ve been a little uncomfortable in the middle, but I’ve been practicing hard,” he said. “The question is not whether I can play better at No. 3, it’s what will be better for the team. If I can come in and perform, then I will bat in that position. But if there is someone better suited to that position, he will go in. We are looking at what the team needs to do and how the team can win. That’s how we’re approaching it.”
Chandimal did not speak of Sri Lanka’s recent history of botched finals, but Jayasuriya - who had been similarly upbeat about the team’s World Twenty20 chances - said Sri Lanka’s jinx had now been lifted.
“Since 2007 we have done well in ICC events, but unfortunately we faltered in the final. But I think during the Asia Cup we came out of that barrier. We won chasing 260. That gave us confidence. We put undue pressure on ourselves when we scores of 260 or so, but I think now the players are experienced enough to adapt to such situations. We didn’t win the finals, but the good thing is that we have reached those finals.”
Sri Lanka full-strength but contracts unsignedESPNCricinfo: Sri Lanka’s top team departed for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh on Sunday morning, but the standoff over player contracts persisted, and will now likely only be resolved when the team returns. A board official had offered players an opportunity to sign when the team assembled at SLC’s Maitland Place offices at 4am on Sunday, but the players had refused. The players had met late on Saturday to discuss their position, but although SLC had issued threats of sending a second-string team to the World T20 earlier in the day, the players maintained their opposition to a contract that does not feature a percentage cut of the payment SLC receives for the team’s participation in global tournaments. On Saturday night, SLC CEO Ashley de Silva indicated the board was content to defer contract negotiations. “If they don’t sign it before they leave, I suppose we will look at it again when they come back,” he said. SLC stands to gain most from its cricketers playing in the tournament unsigned. The board is no longer bound to pay the $ 500,000 flat fee, nor the two-tiered incentive payments it had offered as part of its revised offer, which was a partial sop to the players’ demand for 20% of the gross sum received by SLC for tournament participation. As had happened in 2012, when contracts were not signed until mid-July, the players may not even receive match fees or regular salaries as long as the contracts remain unsigned. These funds are likely to be retroactively credited when the contracts are agreed to, however. The players had softened their demands by the eve of their departure, asking for 12% of the tournament fee. The ICC is expected to pay SLC approximately $ 8.9 million for the World T20, meaning the figure the players had held out for, was about $ 1.07 million. The difference between the guaranteed flat fee the board offered and the percentage sought by the players’ amounts to about $ 570,000 for the tournament. But beyond those sums, the players’ objection to SLC’s proposal is largely driven by the belief they are due a percentage of the ICC payment, primarily as compensation for the use of their images in promotional material for global tournaments. Sri Lanka’s players had received a cut of the ICC event fee from 2003 to 2012, until the board struck that payment from player contracts last year. The players’ grievances are also fuelled by the complaint that they are being penalised for the administrators’ misuse of finances. The board had run up debts of almost $ 70 million when they built two new stadia and renovated a third for the 2011 World Cup. Player payment has caused strife at the beginning of every 12-month contracts cycle since then. The present standoff is also believed to have caused conflict within the board. President Jayantha Dharmadasa had been sympathetic to the players’ concerns, but was outmuscled in the board room by an opposing faction. |
Dilshan’s World T20 participation in doubt; Jayasuriya upbeatTillakaratne Dilshan has until 19 March to recover sufficiently from a thumb fracture or risk being recalled from the World Twenty20, Chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya has said. Dilshan sustained a blow to his right thumb while batting during the second ODI against Bangladesh on February 20, and had since been recovering in Sri Lanka.
Dilshan will travel with the World Twenty20 squad to Bangladesh on Sunday, but the selectors will be forced to name a replacement if he cannot play the 19 March warm-up against West Indies, Jayasuriya said.
“If Dilshan can’t play that practice match, I think he is out, unfortunately,” he said. “That’s what we have discussed with physio. The cut-off date for him will be the 19 March practice match. He is bowling and fielding. But while batting he seems to be struggling a bit.
“Generally, as a cricketer, you’re always carrying a niggle. If you take the current squad of 15 players, about ten of them have some niggles. But you should at least be able to play through the pain.”
Jayasuriya said the selectors did not have a replacement on standby if Dilshan was to be recalled, but suggested Sri Lanka had sufficient cover.
Mahela Jayawardene had opened the batting successfully during 2012’s World Twenty20 and Lahiru Thirimanne was the top-scoring batsman during the recently-concluded Asia Cup, when he opened in Dilshan’s stead.
“We have the options in the team to replace him at opener, since Thirimanne has been in good form,” he said. “We have other seniors also. That won’t be a problem.
“We have a few ideas about who can replace him in the squad as well. We had Chaturanga de Silva as the standby for Rangana Herath, who was injured, but now Herath is ready to play. If Dilshan is not coming we’ll have to assess whether we need an allrounder or an opener.”
Jayasuriya affirmed Dinesh Chandimal’s Twenty20 captaincy, despite Chandimal’s mediocre record in the format, and poor run in limited-overs cricket over the past few months. Chandimal had been dropped for the last two matches of the Asia Cup.
“Chandimal as a captain in T20s has done well and has won tournaments,” Jayasuriya said. “He wasn’t among the runs recently, and during the one-day tournament, the selectors took a decision to leave him out and go with Ashan Priyanjan. We sent the message that he needs to correct his mistakes, improve mentally and come out of the bad trot - that’s why we left him out. But as a captain I know he has done well in T20s and he has got lot of support from Lasith Malinga. He’s a good player and as selectors we have to really back him 100% as the team’s captain.”
Significant contributions from Sri Lanka’s young players during the Asia Cup campaign were particularly encouraging, Jayasuriya said, but he was also pleased with the versatility of several players in the squad. Thisara Perera, Angelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulasekara all bowl reliable seam and are also capable of closing out an innings with the bat, while Dilshan, Sachithra Senanayake and Priyanjan can deliver spin, as wells as score runs.
“We have to use our allrounders wisely, according to the game,” he said. “I feel the ball might keep low in Bangladesh - in Chittagong will keep it even lower. We have to take a decision whether we are going into the game with more spinners or seaming allrounders. When we have won competitions, in the past, our style is that we create pressure by squeezing the runs. That has been our strength.
“I’m very happy as a selector to see the players performing. We have a strong team.” |
