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By Madushka Balasuriya
Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella and Malinda Pushpakumara have been rewarded for their recent performances, forcing their way into Sri Lanka’s 15-man Test squad to face Bangladesh, while Lakshan Sandakan also makes a return having missed out in South Africa.
Left out are Dushmantha Chameera, Angelo Mathews, Kaushal Silva and Kusal Perera - the former two are still recovering from injury, while Silva and Perera failed to grasp opportunities handed to them on recent tours.
Sandakan and Pushpakumara are among four spinners in the squad, alongside Captain Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera, both of whom were instrumental in dismantling Australia’s batsmen at home last year. Sandakan has also impressed in conducive conditions and his return to the squad, after being deemed surplus to requirements on pace-friendly South African wickets, is unsurprising.
Pushpakumara’s inclusion however is rather more unexpected, but is certainly justified following his match-winning performance for Sri Lanka A against the England Lions in their second unofficial Test over the weekend. The slow left-arm spinner picked up 13 wickets in the match and scored the winning runs to help level the three-match series, and having been in and around the top of the domestic wicket-taking charts for several seasons now a call-up to the national side has been a long time coming for the 29-year-old.
With 558 first-class wickets at an average of 19.85, it is possible that his exclusion from previous squads has been down to Herath already having already nailed down the left-arm spinner slot. However, when asked whether it would be a case of history repeating itself - Herath too had to bide his time, waiting in the shadows of Muttiah Muralitharan - he assured that Pushpakumara would get his chance sooner rather than later.
“The coaches and selectors have being scouting him for quite some time and quite thoroughly. It’s clear to everyone that someone who has picked up more than 500 first class wickets has all the necessary qualities to a big part of our team. He has been making waves and has world-class qualities, he will definitely be a part of our team in the future,” said Herath at the pre-tour media briefing yesterday.
The squad also sees four pacemen, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep, all of whom impressed on the recent tour of South Africa, while the uncapped Vikum Sanjaya too retains his place in the squad.
As far as the batting goes Dickwella, who impressed in Australia and South Africa scoring three half-centuries across seven T20Is and ODIs, along with some promising starts, meant he was a shoo-in for the Bangladesh tour. Gunaratne meanwhile, having made his Test debut against Zimbabwe last December, has his heroics in the T20 series against Australia to thank for his inclusion, where he scored two half centuries in the three match series including a swashbuckling unbeaten 84 in the 2nd T20I to clinch the series for his side.
Dhananjaya de Silva also retains his place in the Test squad having been left out of the tour to Australia, with selectors instead deciding his time would be better spent preparing for the Bangladesh series in home conditions with Sri Lanka A. The same goes for Chandimal, who will be hoping to find some form following a dismal couple of tours. The squad is rounded out by Dimuth Karunaratne, Upul Tharanga and Kusal Mendis.
The first test will take place in Galle from 7-11 March, with the second at the P. Sara Stadium from 15-19 March.
- Pix by Krishan Ranasinghe
Asanka Gurusinha has been appointed the manager of the national team, Sri Lanka Cricket announced yesterday.
Gurusinha was part of the 1996 World Cup-winning side, making the number three position his own. An SLC press release said: “Gurusinha, a marketer by profession, was awarded the title of Deshabandu in 1996, for his role in the World Cup victory, and has since been domiciled in Australia for the past many years. Gurusinha is a Level 3 certified cricket coach with many years of experience, and most recently served as the Consultant Regional Cricket Coach for Cricket Australia.”
Speaking on the appointment, Sri Lanka Cricket President Thilanga Sumathipala stated: “We are enhancing our resource team with professionals to achieve our national objective. It is indeed welcome news that Gura will be coming on board with our vision for One Team, One Nation.”
Gurusinha will arrive in Sri Lanka to take up his position prior to the Bangladesh tour which commences on 7 March.
Sri Lanka’s chastening tour of South Africa - T20 series win aside - left selectors, senior management and players with a lot of 
questions to answer.
Coach Graham Ford however, upon the team’s return to the island, spoke of “immense progress” being made in Test and ODI cricket. While that may be the case, one area where progress is not being made as fast as he would like is in the fielding department, with dropped catches a recurring theme across Sri Lanka’s tours to South Africa as well as Australia.
Speaking ahead of Sri Lanka’s Test series against Bangladesh, Ford explained that a concerted effort needed to be made from the grassroots level upwards to develop better fielders for the national pool.
“I think fielding has been a problem for Sri Lanka for quite a long time. They’ve tried out various coaches at the national team level. The board has put a lot of thought into it and realised that we’re not going to solve a problem just by having a coach at the top, and players coming through to the top being way off the required standard.
“No coach can turn someone into a star fielder if he hasn’t been taught for quite some time. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
Ford commended the SLC Board on putting in fielding programs to work with the Under 19s and other youth teams and players, so as to prepare them for life at the international level.
“There’s no quick fix,” he warned. “It is going to take some time, but hopefully if that project is pursued with determination and patience, in time I think Sri Lanka can become the best fielding nation in the world.”
