‘Dilshan under pressure’

Khaleej Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX: Sri Lankan cricket has been going through one of its bad phases and victories eluded them after the retirement of spin magician Muttiah Muralitharan.

When Lasith Malinga too ended his Test career, the Lankans had to look for the replacement of two genuine match winners, and there were still no signs of a positive result.

Though the Lankans have a few world-class batsmen in their ranks, the Proteas exposed their batting by dismissing the islanders cheaply in both innings of the Centurion Test, which the South Africans won by an innings and 81 runs last week. Having lost the Test series against the resurgent Pakistan in the UAE, the Lankans were desperate for a good performance in South Africa.

But an aggressive 10-wicket haul from Vernon Philander in the first Test curtailed their hopes of a recovery.

Former captain Sanath Jayasuriya admitted that it was a tough scenario, but he had faith in the team’s ability to hit back.

The left-hand aggressive opener was in the UAE to play in the Super Sixes tournament held at the Dubai Sports City last week.

“The Sri Lankan team are not doing well at the moment. You need to give them a bit more time and see how they are going,” he told reporters.

“Dilshan just took over as the captain and he is not performing well. He is under pressure. At the same time all the other batsmen are also not performing. These things happen when you play cricket. The coach or management should devise a strategy to come out of it.” Besides the recent defeats, the players and staff were left without wages for nine months due to the board’s financial crisis after it hosted the World Cup this year.

Jayasuriya however said the non-payment of salary could not be a hindrance to the performance of professional cricketers.

“I don’t think the salary issue is affecting them. If you are not paid for two-three months, still you have the money. The board is going through a financial crisis and they should devise a plan to come out of it. The cricketers shouldn’t worry about it; they should concentrate on their game and play.”

According to recent reports, the International Cricket Council has paid 45 per cent of delayed salaries of the Lankan cricketers.

Jaysuriya meanwhile pinned his hopes on youngsters for the revival of fortunes in Lankan cricket.

“Sri Lanka always give chances to young players at international level. We should have faith in the youngsters in the team, as they are also talented. All players go through a bad patch and we have to be patient about them.”