The Sri Lankan talent hunt: Failure to produce quality youngsters
As a Mitchell Johnson seamer caught Kusal Perera plumb right in front of the wicket, ardent followers of international cricket thought, for a moment, whether this match was turning out to be nothing more than a battle of equals, rather, equally struggling regiments. Even before the match began, both sides had been squarely poised, given their ridiculously similar predicament. Ultimately, it was Sri Lanka who cruised into the semi-finals, leaving the Aussies high and dry and stung with questions that will take some time to get answered.
On the back of some radical changes in the line-up triggered by the retirement and injuries to key players, Sri Lanka and Australia both find themselves beleaguered by a similar quandary as they struggle to thrive among the top teams. While the case for Australia has been more of a leadership issue and failure to click as a unit, not to mention off-field controversies, the matter is one of grave concern for Sri Lanka as the Islanders seem to have run short of talent and manufacturing world-class cricketers, like in the yesteryears, appears to be a distant dream.
For a nation that has witnessed the likes of Ranjan Madugalle and Arjuna Ranatunga wielding the willow, it seems only proper that the finesse and elegance of Mahela Jayawardene and the flamboyance of Kumar Sangakkara are worthy heirs to the flair of Marvan Attapattu, grit of Aravinda de Silva and assassinating predisposition of Sanath Jayasuriya. However, with the two guardians of Sri Lankan cricket approaching the twilight of their careers, it is bewildering to observe the dearth of talent to replace them. Both Jayawardene and Sangakkara have set such high standards that filling up their huge boots will take some mighty determination and abundance of natural gifts.
In this scenario, the least that one expects is the availability of an enriched talent pool which can be shuffled and groomed. Instead, the island offers only a limited reservoir of skill and aptitude that, leave alone meeting the standards, is too meager to suffice even the basic requirements.
The inability of Sri Lankans to read the game properly has been a topic for discussion in various forums in recent years. The lack of comprehension and awareness among the youngsters regarding the science behind the sport, the technical aspects of the game and even rules and etiquettes have been showcased on numerous occasions. Most young pacers aren’t aware of the basic seam positions to derive the maximum lateral movement. The ability to exploit favorable conditions doesn’t come naturally to them as pacers like Suranga Lakmal keep on allowing batsmen to leave deliveries wide outside the off-stump in the initial phases of a Test match. Lankan batsmen are found chasing outswinging deliveries and nudging them to the third man, clearly ignorant of the high risk of edging it to the slips.
Too many cooks spoil the broth. The merits of having a pace bowling coach, a part-time spin bowling coach, a batting coach and an overall coach simply elude one’s rationale. Logically explainable or not, one is, somehow, bound to get the feeling that having so many advisors on board may be actually doing more harm than good. Or does this emphasize the scarcity of potential in Lankan cricket? Is the profusion of support staff just an additional veil to overshadow the deficiency of surplus Lankan brilliance?