The transition phase going on in Sri Lankan cricket
”Change is the law of nature, and one can’t deny it”
‘Transition’ is something that every nation, event, person has to pass through. Cricket is no different.
History has witnessed whenever a team had a transition phase from one generation to another, their performance dip to find the right players, combination and all sort of things.
Some have been back to track soon like Australia even after the retirement of the legendary 2003 World Cup team of Ricky Ponting made in heavens, India after the retirement of the Fab Four, but teams like West Indies is still trying hard to get back the glory of the deadly decade of the 70s... and now it’s the turn for Sri Lanka.
It was just a year back when Kumar Sangakkara stunned the world with his ageless classics in World Cup 2015 smashing four centuries. The duo of Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena were making the records tumble in front of them.
Will they be able to retain the T-20 crown?
But in just a year, Sri Lanka is toiling to win against UAE, losing to Bangladesh, though entering the tournament of the defending champions of the Asia Cup making themselves in real danger of being knocked out of the tournament earlier than expected. What makes it worse is with World T-20 just around the door - Sri Lanka will enter again as the defending champions.
The empty shoes of Sangakkara, Jayawardena, Muralitharan, and even Jayasuriya are still not filled. With the youngsters just not being able to deliver, the vacuum is only getting bigger and bigger.
Their bowling too revolves around Lasith Malinga and batting around TM Dilshan. With age catching up on the legends, they are just not the players they used to be. Other bowlers have been inconsistent. Ajantha Mendis has already disappeared becoming a one series wonder.
It’s time for a leader to step up and youngsters to deliver
Only Angelo Mathews is being able to fight something for his team both with the bat and the ball. The Lankan team is lacking a hero and a leader who can bind the young team together. Maybe, Dinesh Chandimal fulfils the need of the hour taking inspiration from Michael Clarke on how he continued the Australian legacy after the retirement of the greats.
The island has continuously given legends to the cricketing world. They still do have the talent. They have a proud history to take inspiration. Let us hope the team whose fortunes were turned by Arjuna Ranatunga comes back again on the track as the cricketing world needs them badly.