Only time will tell whether Sri Lanka’s gamble to omit wicket taking ace spinner Rangana Herath in preference for slow-bowling all-rounder Chathuranga de Silva from its 16-man squad for the five-match ODI series against England was foolhardy or not.
By Srian Obeyesekere
The veteran leftarmer has been in telling form fresh from the island nation’s T 20 World Cup success where Herath produced some awesome spin bowling in must win matches – 5 wickets for 3 runs versus New Zealand a world record and breaking the backbone of India in the final with the wicket of inform Rohit Sharma. In this background, the Herath axing is debatable considering England’s tendency against quality spin and it is worth asking have the Sri Lankan selectors dispensed with a match winner? For the record, Herath has taken 54 ODI wickets from 55 matches and 12 T20 wickets from 9 outings. He has 217 Test wickets from 51 matches and the 36-year olds trademark is his almost unplayable on length deliveries.
In contrast, Chathuranga de Silva (24) has had moderate success in his entry in to ODI cricket. The other young entry is the raw middle order batsman Ashan Priyanjan also aged 24 in preference to the hard hitting Kithruwan Vithanage which is also questionable.
Meanwhile, the squad has been beefed up with the return of veterans Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga – all proven deliverers in the biff bang game. All-rounder Thisara Perera, who played a decisive 3-wicket role in Sri Lanka’s routing of Kent on Friday, also adds impetus along with skipper Angelo Mathews, Vice Captain Lahiru Thirimanne, the latter for whom it will be his first outing in that capacity. Where Thirimanne will be slotted in the batting order of which he will have a say is left to be seen, the left hander having played the role of opener and one drop batsman while at the middle order he has been substantial.
Fast bowler Shaminda Eranga, who was part of the ODI side in Ireland, was left out, as were batsmen Upul Tharanga, Niroshan Dickwella and Kithuruwan Vithanage.
The muscle of the pace attack will be in the form of Malinga, Thisara, Nuwan Kulasekara and Suranga Lakmal and supplemented by the captain Angelo Mathews. The selectors later added Dhammika Prasad as an additional squad member, after an emergency Executive Committee meeting.
The team will play two 50-over warm up matches, before taking on Sussex in a T20 practice match on May 18. The ODI series begins on May 22, in London. Sri Lanka have won each of the nine ODIs they have played this year, including the Asia Cup, in March.
Squad: Angelo Mathews (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Ashan Priyanjan, Sachithra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Chathuranga De Silva, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Dhammika Prasad.
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