No decision taken to replace Asalanka as T20I Captain – Chief selector

Thursday, 27 November 2025 03:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Appointment of Shanaka as Vice-Captain fuels off unnecessary debate

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

Charith Asalanka (left) and Dasun Shanaka

Charith Asalanka’s early departure from Pakistan without playing in the ongoing T20I Tri-Series has raised an unnecessary debate about him losing the T20I captaincy for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Putting the speculations to rest, chief cricket selector Upul Tharanga in a virtual media conference yesterday said: “Charith is still in our plans to captain the T20I side. We have not taken any decision to make a change. When we appointed him, we planned to have him as the Captain for the T20 World Cup.”

“After this current series is over, we will have to see what options we have. With the World Cup around the corner, we cannot make radical changes. We have to discuss with the selection committee members and the coaches and decide which is most suitable for the team. With his experience, Charith will be an important player in our T20 World Cup side. We have seen what he is capable of. He has won matches on his own. He is in our T20I World Cup plans,” said Tharanga.

“Charith is not amongst the runs in T20I cricket and unfortunately, he had to return home due to a viral flu. The report from the physio said that it was difficult to say when he would recover from it. That is why we took the decision to send him back. If we were to continue keeping him in the team, we would be forced to pick a player as cover for him.”

Head Coach Sanath Jayasuriya said that every cricketer goes through a bad patch and it is the duty of the Coaches and those at the High Performance Centre (HPC) to rectify his mistakes and give Charith as much support and confidence to get him back on track.

What has fuelled a debate on Asalanka’s captaincy is the appointment of former skipper Dasun Shanaka as Vice-Captain for the Pakistan tour. With Asalanka returning home early, Shanaka has assumed the Sri Lanka captaincy for the ongoing T20I Tri-Series.

“We appointed Dasun as Vice-Captain as a back-up plan for Charith in case he fails to regain his form. If you take Charith’s record in T20Is, he has not contributed anything substantial in his last 10 matches or so,” said Tharanga. “We had to appoint Dasun because we don’t have many options for the captaincy. Dasun has the experience of being a former Captain and he has played cricket around the world.”