By Madushka Balasuriya

The selection committee that was put in place on Monday night, yesterday announced two changes to the Sri Lanka squad that was due to fly out to India later in the day for the World T20, after an eleventh hour shake-up by Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara had seen the previous selection committee sacked citing an “inconsistency in selection criteria”.

“The players are under pressure now because the safety net provided by players such as Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara is no longer there. They are also heavily criticised following defeats. Mentally, the players need to be built up.

“The new committee has a chance to come together with the cricket board and work together to solve these issues, instead of operating as two different entities,” added Jayasekara, alluding to a rift between the previous selection committee, which was headed by Kapila Wijegunawardene, and the new board.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had previously named identical squads for both the Asia Cup T20 and World T20 but Lahiru Thirimanne was a notable exclusion. Thirimanne had averaged 43.05 in ODIs, and his general form in the shorter versions of the game had been good, despite a poor run in the Test arena. Having backed Thirimanne publicly, following that omission, Aravinda De Silva and Kumar Sangakkara, both of whom are now on this short-term selection committee, wasted little time in reinstating a player they felt added balance to the batting line-up.

“The number three position is a key position in the batting line-up. Lahiru Thirimanne has been playing there more than anyone else in the past year, and has performed well in the shorter formats. We felt bringing him in would add stability,” explained the new Chairman of Selectors De Silva.

Niroshan Dickwella is the player who makes way for Thirimanne. Dickwella had been drafted into the Asia Cup squad as an opener. However, following Dinesh Chandimal’s successful stint at the top of the order, he found himself playing just one match in the Asia Cup, that too without facing a ball.

Suranga Lakmal is the other player that comes into the side; on the back of leading his Tamil Union side to their first domestic trophy in 65 years, Lakmal replaces leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay – who didn’t get a game on the seamer-friendly tracks in Bangladesh – and is being brought in as a replacement for Lasith Malinga should he be unfit to play.

Malinga, who played only one match in the Asia Cup before a recurring knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the tournament, has also stepped down as captain. Angelo Mathews will take over the side with Chandimal as his deputy. SLC Chairman Thilanga Sumathipala reiterated that it was solely Malinga’s decision to resign from captaincy duties.

“Malinga decided on his own to step down, as it was also his decision to take part just as a player if he is fit and in the team,” stated Sumathipala.

Malinga, in a letter to SLC, had offered to resign as captain due to the slowness of his recovery from an injury to his left knee, but stated that he hoped to be available after 15 February.

“The new selection committee decided that if Malinga can play even one match in the series, it would be worth keeping him in the squad. The three-man medical team that is assessing his fitness is confident that he will be able to play a role in the World T20 for Sri Lanka,” Sumathipala added.

In-form Dhananjaya waits in the wings

868 runs at an average of 54.25, 34 wickets at 14.23 runs per scalp bowling off-spin – these are the stats of Dhananjaya De Silva over the past season of first-class cricket; in the recently held Super T20 Provincial Tournament he was also adjudged the Batsman of the Series. He, however, has somehow only managed to find himself on the standby list for the World T20 squad, while other arguably less in form players have been selected to make the journey to India.

At 24 years of age and in the prime of his career, Dhananjaya has to wait for an injury to a member of the already-chosen squad to even be in with a chance of being called up, despite excelling in a domestic tournament that was supposed to offer all players a chance to shine in front of a national audience.

“He might join the team. Depends on the composition needed for the next game; whether it’s a spinner, fast bowler or a batsman that is needed,” was SLC Chairman Thilanga Sumathipala’s take on Dhananjaya’s chances of being brought in as an replacement.

Sumathipala was also unaware as to why the previous selection committee had failed to identify Dhananjaya as a viable squad option ahead of the Asia Cup.

When asked as to why Dhananjaya hadn’t been considered when they were finalising the squads, the new Chairman of Selectors Aravinda De Silva said: “We were brought in only last night and we had a specific squad of players that we had to work with. To completely go out of that with someone who, I think even Graham [Ford] was not very aware of, was a bit of an issue at that time.”

The reasoning as to why the most in-form all-rounder in the domestic game was overlooked seemed to be because the newly-hired coach wasn’t sure of who he was and that a hastily-formed selection committee were unwilling to gamble on a player who, though domestically dominant, had not had much international exposure.

De Silva added: “We didn’t want to make too many drastic changes at this moment. At this point in time, what was most important was to build up the unity of the players. That was what was needed to build up the confidence of the team. So we mainly looked at bringing in a couple of players who fit the game plan of the team and rearranged the squad to fit them into the team to add batting stability.”

De Silva went on to speak about the need for talent in the country to be handled correctly post-30 April, when their mandate ends.

“It’s very important that whoever takes over after April works with the coaches concurrently to make sure the future of Sri Lanka Cricket – because I see the talent in Sri Lanka, and it’s amazing – is handled correctly.”

Dhananjaya played his only T20Is for Sri Lanka in 2015 where he scored 31 and 14 against Pakistan. When he did grasp his opportunity on the domestic circuit he has been overlooked and he now faces the prospect of being drafted into the side in a few months when his form may not be as consistent as it is at the moment. These inconsistencies in selection criteria could have a very real negative impact on the futures of young players which, as De Silva says, needs to be handled correctly.

President wishes team ahead of World T20

The Sri Lanka Cricket team departed 

for India ahead of the ICC World T20. President Maithripala Sirisena personally wished the squad led by Captain Angelo Mathews at a felicitation ceremony held yesterday at the SSC

Sri Lanka women’s team leaves to India ahead of World T20

The Sri Lankan women’s cricket team departed to India yesterday ahead of the Women’s ICC World T20 scheduled to begin on 15 March with hosts India playing Bangladesh and Sri Lanka facing off against New Zealand on the opening day. The women’s team was felicitated at the SLC headquarters in Colombo with the squad being blessed ahead of their departure – Pix by Shantha Ratnayake