Sri Lanka's all-time Cricket World Cup XI

Sri Lanka is the second most consistent team in World Cups, after Australia, since the 1996 edition in the subcontinent. They entered the semi-finals once (2003), finals twice (2007 and 2011) and ended up as the champions in 1996.Having matured as a cricketing nation only in 1996, it is no surprise that the all-time XI is dominated by players belonging to the 1990s and 2000s.While there were Sri Lankan batting greats of the ilk of Duleep Mendis, Roy Dias, and Sidath Wettimuny who played prior to the 1990s, they had to be excluded as a result of having below par outings in World Cups.There were a lot of difficulties in picking the No.6 and No.7 batsmen for Sri Lanka since no batsman has occupied that spot in the Sri Lankan setup for long enough to be considered a specialist. Hence, certain players were picked largely on the impact they had on the team rather than looking into their numbers.The numbers that were considered were only from World Cup matches, and the playing XI does not consist of the best performers per se but instead focuses on coming up with the best combination possible.This is the sole reason for the exclusion of Marvan Atapattu from the XI. Despite averaging 43.41 with the bat, which is the fourth-best average for a Sri Lankan in the tournament’s history, Atapattu misses out since the opening spots are occupied by two emphatic openers. The former Sri Lankan captain often failed to make an impact while batting in the middle-order.A formidable team that is capable of outdoing opponents in any conditions should consist of the following in my view:Two aggressive openersA solid number three who bats through the inningsTwo aggressive middle-order batsmen who can score runs freely through the middle of an ODI inningsOne batsman who can absorb pressure and is capable of re-building an innings in case of early casualtiesOne finisher who bats well with the lower-orderOne batting all-rounder who bowls seam-upOne seam bowling all-rounder who bats a bitTwo lethal fast bowlers capable of taking wickets with the new ballOne swing bowlerTwo batting all-rounders who bowl spinOne wicket-taking spinner

#1 Sanath Jayasuriya

The hero of the 1996 triumph, Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is an automatic choice for the opener’s slot in Sri Lanka’s all-time World Cup XI. Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s secret of success in 1996 and was also the key man in Sri Lanka reaching the finals in 2007.

He has played the most number of World Cups for Sri Lanka along with Muttiah Muralitharan. He took part in five World Cup editions and scored 1,165 runs for the island nation in that period, which is the highest number of runs by a Sri Lankan in the tournament.

Despite him averaging only 34.26 with the bat, the lightning starts he usually provided would help the stable middle-order build on the quick foundation he lays down.

With the ball, Sanath picked up 27 wickets at an average of 39.25. His slow left-arm spin will add another dimension to the team and provide more balance.