Enough is enough - Sri Lanka needs to get rid of the stragglers

Catastrophic running between the wickets – Kusal Mendis run out by Bhanuka Rajapaksa

• Losing to Zimbabwe is the last straw

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Losing to a side like Zimbabwe was the last straw for Sri Lanka. To say the least, the batting was despicable. On a surface where Zimbabwe had scored 162-8, Sri Lanka were shot out for 95 to lose the contest by 67 runs.

The time seems to have come to take some stringent measures and get rid of the players who time and again have been given opportunities but failed. They need to be replaced by youngsters.

It is no secret that the shortest format of the game requires players with fresh legs so that the fielding standards are high and the opposition is kept on their toes. Neither of this took place in the game against Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka had slow movers on the field and Zimbabwe batsmen capitalized on it to convert singles into twos at will. When it came to Sri Lanka’s turn to bat they were leaden footed and struggled to run twos. Our batsmen could not match the Zimbabweans when it came to running between the wickets.

For a long time we have been giving players like Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Kusal Perera, and Maheesh Theekshana chance after chance saying that they will win matches for us. Well, it’s not happening.

If they don’t score or take wickets they are total passengers because they are liabilities on the field. If they are to be included they should be scoring and contributing at least 75 runs with the bat to at least cover up for their fielding deficiencies.

Rajapaksa was pathetic. He ran out Kusal Mendis when he was trying to build the innings, and nearly did the same against his captain Dasun Shanaka. It was catastrophic running between the wickets. Rajapaksa didn’t make amends for these lapses by playing a responsible innings but instead threw away his wicket.

Theekshana of late has lost his edge as a bowler where he can take the odd wicket or two and contain the opposition. In the power play overs he should get at least 1-2 wickets which he is not doing consistently. And he is a poor fielder.

Nuwan Thushara also came second best in that game. He conceded 30 runs in his 3 overs and when his turn came to bat he could not even defend his wicket. When a catch came his way he hardly made an attempt to go for it.

What is happening is the others are exposed to cover up the lapses of these players on the field and this happened against Zimbabwe. You cannot hide players on the field especially in a T20I match. Just imagine playing against a stronger team what the outcome would be?

The manner in which Sri Lanka played against Zimbabwe showed the standard of our cricket. It is high time the selectors and team management started giving youngsters a chance. Even if we lose with them at least we are giving them the experience for the future.

Take Pavan Rathnayake as an example. If Charith Asalanka had not fallen ill, he would have just come on the tour and gone home without playing a single match. But having got the opportunity in the third ODI against Pakistan he showed what he is capable of. Everyone who saw him realized how good he is.

Players like Rathnayake, Janith Liyanage, Dushan Hemantha, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Kamil Mishara are cooling their heels in the dugout while Sri Lanka are playing the tested and tried players over and over again and losing disgracefully.

Sri Lanka play hosts Pakistan today in their second match of the T20I Tri-Series and several changes are expected to take place in the team. There is no choice but to make the hard decisions to save the team for further embarrassment. The old and unfit players need to be replaced with young blood.   

The Pakistan public has been wholeheartedly supporting Sri Lanka since they took the decision to stay back and continue the tour. But to perform like they did against Zimbabwe the public must be wondering whether it is worth their effort to come and support a team that is playing like a bunch of schoolboys.

We are told that the head coach Sanath Jayasuriya and the Deputy Minister of Sport Sugath Tillakaratne who has flown to Rawalpindi had spoken to the players after the match and reminded them that they should take some pride in representing the country where 22 million people are looking upto them as ambassadors.

The players were given a day off yesterday to take their minds off the defeat and come back fresh for today’s game.