7 new captains, 57 different players, 28 debuts !! That's what Srilanka has done since the last World Cup. They've virtually changed players at the rate at which we have new movies at our multiplex cinema halls. I think even the most die hard Cricket fan of Lankan Cricket would have lost track at the pace at which they have made changes. The only thing that changes faster than the Lankan team is their selection committee.
So is it by chits, by shooting darts or a campaign like "Britannia Khao, World Cup Jao" the way the Srilankan team has been selected !?! The biggest surprise was the appointment of their captain, Dimuth Karunaratne who last played an ODI way back in 2015. They've left out players they have backed for a long time like D Chandimal, U Tharanga, N Dickwella, A Dananjay and D Gunathilaka only to go back to few players they had already tried and discarded previously
This should be the last world cup for 2 of their most experienced campaigners, Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews. For a country that has produced some legends of the game like Murlidharan, Vaas, Jayasuriya, Sangakarra, Jayawardene, Dilshan, etc its really disheartening to their state of affairs being in such shambles.
So whats their best chance ?! Play fearlessly Cricket with a nothing to lose approach !
Likely XI
1) Dimuth Karunaratne
2) Avishka Fernando
3) Lahiru Thirimanne
4) Kusal Mendis
5) Angelo Mathews
6) Dhananjaya de Silva
7) Jeevan Mendis
8) Thisara Perera
9) Isuru Udana
10) Suranga Lakmal
11) Lasith Malinga
Bench
1) Nuwan Pradeep - Reserve fast bowler
2) Milinda Siriwardene - Reserve Allrounder
3) Kusal Perera - Reserve Keeper/Top Order batsmen
4) Jeffrey Vandersay - Leg Spinner
Verdict - Favorites for the bottom of the table. They could be really dangerous at the back end of the tournament playing party spoilers to any of the other teams in contention for the knockout stages.
Loved the funny references :)
ReplyDelete