The winners and losers from the Super Provincial Tournament 

By Madushka Balasuriya

The Super Provincial 50-over Tournament concluded last week with Colombo and Galle sharing the spoils in a rain-abandoned final. That non-result is of little consequence however, with it long established that the tournament would serve primarily as a final audition for a World Cup berth.

While a majority of the final 15-man squad is more or less confirmed, here we will take a look at some of the winners and losers over the course of the week-long tournament, and who’s in with a shot of making the World Cup.

Winners

Jeffrey Vandersay

Vandersay had broken into the national side in 2015 on the back of an impressive first class record, and since then has been in and around the national setup, vying for a wrist spinner spot along with Lakshan Sandakan. All that hard work however was seemingly undone when he received a one-year suspended ban from SLC midway through last year on disciplinary grounds.

That could well have spelt the end for his World Cup chances, but a combination of factors, namely Sandakan’s inconsistency and question marks over Akila Dananjaya’s remodelled action, boosted the right-arm wrist spinner’s chances of booking a ticket to England. 

And he seems to have done those chances no harm at all, with a consistent showing for Kandy. Picking up five wickets over the course of four games, Vandersay also managed to maintain a healthy economy rate. Four of those five wickets meanwhile were set batsmen; with the selectors openly on the lookout for wicket taking bowlers in the middle overs, Vandersay has made a strong case for the job.

Dimuth Karunaratne

The stand-in Test captain, who is now likely to become the permanent Test captain, and has more recently been touted as a potential ODI captain for the World Cup. It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for Karunaratne, a period in which his stock, both on and off the field, has risen exponentially.

Following his Churchillian turn in South Africa, leading Sri Lanka to the unlikeliest of Test series victories, the selectors have openly been discussing his inclusion in the one-day setup in an attempt to tap into whatever magic potion he possesses in terms of cultivating team spirit and camaraderie.

The one hitch in the plan was that Karunaratne hadn’t played ODI cricket since the last World Cup in 2015. So, unsurprisingly, this tournament was seen as a means to testing his viability in the shorter format, one which he passed resoundingly. Knocks of 35*, 44, and then a match-winning 86, mean he is almost certain to be one of Sri Lanka’s top 3 in England in May.

Dhananjaya De Silva

Considering his all-round talents and sound technique, De Silva should be a shoo-in for Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad, however ever since his debut in 2015 he has consistently found himself on the chopping block whenever the selectors desired a change of personnel. That said, his record screams of unfulfilled potential, averaging 19, 26 and 32 respectively, in T20Is, ODIs and Tests. 

But with batting returns of 89, 34, and 32 this past tournament, and three wickets, De Silva may be the solution to Sri Lanka’s spinning allrounder dilemma. Expect him to be on the flight to England this summer.

Lahiru Madushanka

Sri Lanka’s fast bowling slots are for the most part sorted going into the World Cup; Lasith Malinga and Suranga Lakmal are nailed on, while Dushmantha Chameera and Kasun Rajitha will vie for that final spot. That said, Lahiru Madushanka did his best to put his name in the hat, if not with his bowling, then at least with the willow.

With two of Colombo’s matches being rained out, Madushanka only had an opportunity to bowl in the first two games, picking up two wickets in the process. Where he truly shone though was in showcasing a penchant for some devastating lower-order hitting with successive scores of 23, 42* and 24*. 

With Sri Lanka’s batting order prone to collapses, the ability to clear the ropes late on could prove invaluable, though with both Thisara Perera and Isuru Udana already filling similar roles, making the World Cup squad is definitely an outside shot.

Losers

Niroshan Dickwella

The firebrand that is Dickwella is Sri Lanka Cricket’s own personal Marmite; loved and hated in equal measure. But over the course of this tournament, all that the fan’s hate about him was on full display, while all that they love was seemingly on vacation. Notching scores of 6, 19, 2, and 4, in his four games, Dickwella was guilty of gifting his wicket on nearly every occasion, with lazy wafts and aimless drives de rigueur.

Even when he did look in touch, there was always the sense a false shot was just around the corner. Which is a shame, because when he is able to retain his focus, Dickwella is one of the few Sri Lankan batsmen capable of taking games away from the opposition at the top of the order. He will likely still make the World Cup squad, but only just.

Danushka Gunathilaka

Prior to the tournament, the Dickwella/Gunathilaka opening partnership - one which had yielded 765 runs at 69.54 in 11 ODIs, including three century stands - was something many fans had been eager to see reprised. 

However after failing to put together a partnership of more than 10 runs in four attempts, and Gunathilaka providing scores of 3, 7, 0, and 15 in the process, the likelihood of either player making the World Cup squad on current form should be far from a certainty, but Gunathilaka is certainly the one whose head is on the proverbial chopping block.

A situation that is made all the more unfortunate by the fact that he had been in good form prior to the string of disciplinary issues, which had kept him out of the team for stretches last year.

Dinesh Chandimal

When Chandika Hathurusingha took over the reins of the national team last year, one of his first moves was in backing Chandimal. But not the present iteration of Chandimal, who through years of over-coaching and self-correction had been ground into a dull middle-order grinder. No, Hathurusingha was backing (the return of) the tearaway middle order swashbuckler, who had broken onto the scene all those years ago.

Fast-forward a year, and with scores of 42 and 35 in his only two outings for Colombo - the other two being rained out - the dichotomy of Chandimal is still apparent. That 42 came off 66 deliveries, where Chandimal had come into bat with his team in a position of relative strength - 66 for 1 after 12.5 overs - but then had proceeded to knuckle down and grind, when keeping the scoreboard ticking was the need of the hour.

His 34-ball 35 in the next game meanwhile could not have been more different. After Avishka Fernando had retired hurt, and Upul Tharanga had fallen an over later, Chandimal coming in at no.3 knew he had a rebuilding job to undertake. But in blitzing seven boundaries (28 runs), he had taken on a rare counterattacking role which took his side to 82 in the 14th over, before he was summarily dismissed.

Both these innings highlight the great and the direful of Chandimal, namely his ability to play any kind of innings but a distinct inability to shift gears within the context of a game. 

With Dimuth Karunaratne having almost nailed down a top order anchor role, Angelo Mathews doing the same in the middle, and the likes of Oshada Fernando offering more solidity, it remains to be seen if the now 29 year-old former captain has done enough to win his place back in the squad.

Dasun Shanaka

As recently as last October, Dasun Shanaka was being spoken of as a long-term replacement for the injury prone Angelo Mathews at No. 5. A big-hitter capable of clearing any boundary, and handy with his seamers with the ball, Shanaka had been brought into the national fold by Hathurusingha on the back of some destructive domestic batting performances.

But after a change in selection committee late last year, Shanaka has found himself out of favour in terms of the national team playing just one match in New Zealand and missing the tour of South Africa altogether. To compound matters, he picked up a muscle injury forcing him to miss the Super Provincial tournament.

While he is now back to full fitness and in contention for a World Cup berth, the likelihood of him making the squad seems a far longer shot than it was just a few months ago.