Sri Lankan U-19 cricketers play first international game in 20 months

• Take on Under-19 World Cup champs Bangladesh in 5-match ODI series today

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Sri Lanka U-19 Captain Dunith Wellalage

Bangladesh U-19 Captain Meherob Hasan

Sri Lanka’s preparation for the 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup begins today when they take on defending Under-19 World Cup champions Bangladesh in a five-match ODI series at the Rangiri Dambulla International

Cricket Stadium today.

While Bangladesh are coming fresh from a 3-2 win over Afghanistan at home, Sri Lanka will be starting anew, not having had any international exposure since the last Under-19 World Cup ended in South Africa in February 2020. The advent of COVID-19 has put a stop to all school sports activities in the country, resulting in the boys not having any sort of competitive cricket with the exception of a few school 50-over matches prior to coming into this series.

So, it is no surprise to hear the Sri Lanka Under-19 Coach Avishka Gunawardene saying: “These boys are playing together for the first time as a team and we are playing an international game close to two years. In terms of their training and physical wellbeing, they are all fit and prepared, it’s just about going into the middle and playing together as a team. 

“They have been training together and have an understanding with each other but of course it’s an international game, they have to go out there and click together. It’s just about handling a bit of pressure and nerves. I am sure there will be some nerves playing a part after so long.”

Gunawardene said that not having international exposure for almost two years was not an excuse. “We’ve got enough talent. The talent pool we have is quite good, it’s just that they haven’t had that proper match practice. It’s how they handle the nerves in the first game. The first game is very important for them to go out there and play together.”

The plus point Gunawardene sees in his team is that most of the batsmen can also bowl. 

“They are pretty good at it. Take Satish Rajapaksa, he bowls very good off-spinners, Raveen (de Silva) bowls leg-spinners, (Dunith) Wellalage is an all-rounder, and someone like fast bowler Chamidu Wickramasinghe can bat very well down the order. That would give the team a backup for the bowling department as well because a few of the batsmen can also make up a few overs.”

Gunawardene said the opening game of the series was important to study the opposition as well as see what areas his team needs improvement.

“The spin department – we have a few good spinners, but they are playing the right spinner according to the opposition, which we haven’t seen much. A lot would depend on the first game so that we can also have a good look at the opposition of what they are and what they can do. 

“All the players are keen; the good thing is, from where we started 4-5 weeks ago up to now the buildup has been good, it’s been positive. I see improvement, but we still have to work on certain areas, which will obviously happen in the middle when they are playing. We can do all the things at practices but it’s about taking it to the middle and executing the plan. While we are trying to win, Under-19 is also looking ahead at the future.”

With the Dambulla pitch being a fresh one for today’s game, Gunawardene said that they would go with three fast bowlers. Sri Lanka, who have named a squad of 14 for this game, will pick their fast-bowling trio from Chamidu Wickramasinghe, Yasiru Rodrigo, Matheesha Pathirana and Lahiru Abeysinghe.

Bangladesh will start the series as favourites as they have batting all-rounder Meherob Hasan, who is the captain, and left-hand opening bat Prantik Nawrose Nabil, two survivors of the 2020 Under-19 World Cup team that won the final by beating India by three wickets (D/L method). Vice-Captain Aich Mollah and Mahfijul Islam have been amongst the runs in the recently concluded series against Afghanistan, which Bangladesh won 3-2 with Mollah having scored a hundred in one of the matches. Left-arm spinner Naimur Rohman was Bangladesh’s main wicket-taker of the series with 13 wickets, including a five-wicket haul. They also have four players with the experience of playing in the Dhaka Premier division league and T20 league – Prantik Nawrose Nabil, Ariful Islam, Mohiuddin Tareq and Tahjibul Islam.

Teams:  

SRI LANKA U-19: Dunith Wellalage (Captain), Sadeesha Jayawardena, Jeewaka Shasheen, Shevon Daniel, Sadisha Rajapaksa, Raveen de Silva (Vice-Captain), Chamidu Wickramasinghe, Yasiru Rodrigo, Matheesha Pathirana, Pawan Pathiraja, Traveen Mathew, Lahiru Abeysinghe, Malsha Tharupathi and Lahiru Dewatage.

BANGLADESH U-19: Meherob Hasan (Captain), Aich Mollah (Vice-Captain), Mohiuddin Tareq, Ripon Mondol, Golam Kibria, Mahfijul Islam, Maksudur Rahman, Ashiqur Zaman, Iftakhar Hossain Ifti, Musfik Hasan, Naimur Rohman, Prantik Nawrose Nabil, Tahjibul Islam, Ariful Islam, Abdulla Al Mamun and Ahosan Habib Leon.