How would you describe a ‘rotten luck’? Ask the Sri Lankan cricket team in India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, and they will probably say, look at us!
Losing your top all-rounder due to an injury just before an ICC tournament or the captain himself in the middle of it; every setback hurts you equally. And such has been the luck for Sri Lanka. They couldn’t have Waninsu Hasaranga in the final 15 and then their skipper Dasun Shanaka was ruled out due to a thigh injury, leaving the team in the middle of a whirlpool.
Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera missed the flight to India due to injuries. Captain Shanaka hurt his right thigh during his side’s loss to Pakistan last week and was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. In the same game, young pacer Matheesha Pathirana sustained a shoulder injury and will be unavailable for selection on Saturday in Lucknow when the team will face The Netherlands.
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Questions loomed large on Kusal Perera’s availability as he was hit by a Marcus Stoinis short ball in the last game in Lucknow. However, he showed up in the team’s optional training session on Friday and looked comfortable while facing Lahiru Kumara in the nets.
The final call for Perera’s participation in the game against the Netherlands will be taken as he feels better.
“Discussing Kusal’s situation, there’s a specific protocol in place when a player is struck on the head by a ball. Medical professionals and doctors closely observe him for a five-day period. Yesterday, he participated in training, and he’s actively training today as well. Following today’s training session, he will make a decision regarding his availability for tomorrow’s match about whether he can play or not,” Naveen Nawaz, Sri Lanka’s batting coach, said while addressing the press conference on Friday.
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Shanaka pushing himself harder
The most important element of Sri Lanka’s pre-match training session was the presence of Dasun Shanaka who will travel with the team as a reserve player as the thigh injury cut his stint short in the World Cup. Nawaz said the selectors wanted to keep Shanaka as a backup so that he could regain his fitness and chip in in the later stage of the tournament if there were injury concerns any more.
“Yeah, He’s in the process of rehabilitation and he started training already, he’s not in the 15-member squad, but he’s in as one of the reserve players. So once his rehabilitation process is done and once, we know whether he’s available for selection, I think selectors wanted to keep him as a backup in case we face any other injuries in the batting order as an option,” Nawaz said.
Shanaka’s absence a big loss
Losing your captain in the middle of an ODI World Cup is the biggest blow to deal with. But thankfully, Kusal Mendis is there to shoulder the responsibility. Answering a Cricketnext query, Nawaz said the team’s focus is on delivering a tidy performance against the Dutchmen and not on the uncontrollable.
“Well, losing Dasun is a loss for us. Any team losing the captain of the team is going to have an impact. But Kusal Mendis has been deputizing for Dasun for a long time and he‘s an experienced player so it’s not affected us into that effect,” Nawaz said.
“I think we have no control over things that are happening in the tournament, which obviously in a long tournament like this there can be ups and downs. So, we are not thinking about it. We are more focused on our game and how we can come on a day and try and have a tidy performance and make fewer mistakes in the middle, as the batting, bowling, and fielding groups go and execute our plans with fewer mistakes. So, we are focused on that at the moment,” he added.
No Pathirana for the Netherlands game
The next-gen Malinga of Sri Lanka, Pathirana is not fit which ultimately puts him out of contention. The team requires another 10 days to take the final call on the fast bowler’s future in the World Cup.
“Matisha Pathirana has not recovered yet. He is still in his rehabilitation process. I think he has a ten-day process. After ten days we can tell what his condition is. Currently, he is not available for selection,” Nawaz said.
Angelo Matthews, Dushmantha Chameera join Sri Lanka as travelling reserves
Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews and pacer Dushmantha Chameera joined Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad in Lucknow on Friday as travelling reserves.
Several media reports claimed Mathews’ ‘green card’ entry to the Lankan XI for the Netherlands tie. But there’s no chance for such ‘out-of-the-box’ change because the team haven’t named the veteran all-rounder in the squad of the 15 yet.
“No, he [Mathews] can’t walk into the game tomorrow because he is not included in the 15 submitted to the ICC. We need to release one of the players from the squad for either Angelo or Dushmantha Chameera to come in. So, as I said before, we have a few injury concerns, so we’ll make that decision in the coming days, depending on the reports from medicals,” Nawaz added.
No unnecessary pressure
Netherlands’ victory over South Africa was the showstopper. It’s a part of history now. But the show must go on and since Sri Lanka are facing the surprising Dutchmen, they focus on delivering the best.
“The fact that the Netherlands beat South Africa was beyond our control. As I mentioned earlier, when playing a tournament that has been going on for a long time like this, there may be mistakes in some places. We focus on the order in which we play and what mistakes we made in the previous matches, how can we correct those things, how can we make fewer mistakes in our batting, bowling, and fielding, and how can we have an impact on focusing. I think there is no point in getting unnecessary pressure on us by thinking about things that we cannot control,” Nawaz said.
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