The tour defeat against Pakistan in all the three formats of the game, is indeed a wake up call for the island nation, Sri Lanka. It is time for them to open their eyes, rise up again and complete a good homework in order to maintain their status as the reigning World T20 Champions and prepare themselves firm enough to have any chance of defending their title successfully in the next edition of the ICC World T20 in India, 2016. Ayush Gupta rates Sri Lankan players out of 10 following the T20I series loss.
Kusal Perera: The opening wicket-keeper batsman had a tough time in the crease in the opening game, scoring just four. However, he came up with an improved performance, but not to a good extent as he scored just 19. Nevertheless, he usually does a good job behind the wicket and he did so in this series, but his failure to contribute with the bat cost his team the series. Verdict: 4/10
Tillakaratne Dilshan: The veteran opening batsman is usually known for his opening explosive batting, especially in the limited over format. However, his impatient attitude while batting costs his innings in most of the games and it was the same in this series as well as he scored just mere six in the opening game, followed by mere 10 in the next. Thus, just not good enough for his team to pose a threat to the opponent. Verdict – 3/10
Dhananjaya de Silva: The debutante had a memorable debut as he contributed a healthy 31 runs in the opening game in order to post a stiff target. However, the inability to get good support from the other end cost him his innings and the match. Nonetheless, the next game was not as impressive as pressure of a stiff target took a toll on him and was dismissed for mere 14. Overall, an average start to his international career. Verdict – 5/10
Kithuruwan Vithanage: Another debutant who had a real bad start to his career, scoring just a run. Although, it was a bit harsh to drop him from the next game based on the opening game, but it was a desperate attempt from Sri Lanka to stay alive in the series. Thus, an incomplete verdict shall not be fair enough. Verdict – 2/10
Angelo Mathews: The ODI skipper and all-rounder played just the opening game of the series and had an average outing with the bat, scoring 23 and claiming a wicket for 33. However, an injury forced him out of the next game, thus prompting to give another incomplete verdict based on a single game. Verdict – 4/10
Milinda Siriwardana: Yet another debutant who was an instant hit in the first game, scoring a healthy 35 of just 18 deliveries, and thus becoming the highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka in the game. The second game too was a fair performance for him, unlike the previous game as he scored a crucial 23 off 19 deliveries, thus proving himself worthy of being a dependable middle-order batsman. Verdict – 6/10
Chamara Kapugedera: With a surprise inclusion back into the squad after a long time, just like Shoaib Malik of Pakistan, he too has jewelled well in both the games he has features so far, scoring a healthy unbeaten 31 in the opening game, followed by another impressive innings of an unbeaten 48. However, ending up on the losing side just didn’t work for him well enough. Verdict – 7/10
Thisara Perera: The hard-hitting all-rounder is also one of the favourites for Sri Lankan crowd. However, his pitiful form with the bat recently has put Sri Lanka in a deep trouble. With a score of two and a single in the two games, it’s just not what Sri Lanka want in this format of the game, especially being the defending World T20 champions. Although, he has worked good with the ball, claiming three wickets from the two games, an impressive performance with the bat too would have put him in the good books. Verdict – 4/10
Binura Fernando: Another young fast-bowler, who had a fair run with the ball in both the games. However, with just three wickets for 71 runs is a bit expensive. Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely to take anything away from this young chap and is sure to get more chances in the future. Verdict – 5/10
Jeffrey Vandersay: One of the debutant bowlers, who was on a mission to prove himself in the opening game, but with no wickets for 25 runs and for 19 runs in the next game, he to has failed to prove himself and make it to the good books of the Lankan team. Verdict – 2/10
Lasith Malinga: The skipper, also known as the slinger and under whose reign Sri Lanka are the current world T20 champions, too had a pitiful tournament, claiming just a couple of wickets in both the games for 86 runs, which is far more expensive than that could ever be imagined from a bowler with tons of international experience. Verdict – 3/10
Dasun Shanaka: With quite a few debutants and new faces in the Lankan squad, this young chap was promoted to the squad as a batsman in the second game. However, with no lady luck on his side, he was unfortunately run out for mere seven and thus is yet to prove himself as a worthy batsman. Verdict – 3/10
(Ayush Gupta is a reporter at CricketCountry. A passionate supporter of Manchester United, he idolises Roger Federer and is also a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) maniac. He can be followed on Twitter @Ayush24x7)
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.