Image Credit- AFP
While the Men’s T20 World Cup in June may only be a
little over three months away, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka only have six
competitive matches remaining before the competition begins. Three of those
matches will take place over the course of the next week, beginning on Saturday
with the first T20I in Dambulla.
This implies that any imperfections that surface or necessary adjustments to
the game plan take on greater importance; in other words, now is the moment to
polish your work; there won’t be much time left for much else. Furthermore, Sri
Lanka will probably prioritise the makeup of their team.
Four front-line bowlers, six hitters, and Wanindu
Hasaranga as the lone all-rounder made together a victorious lineup in the just
ended One-Day Internationals. However, Sri Lanka has a tendency to select more
all-round players in the Twenty20 format. Players with bat and ball
capabilities include Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, and Dasun Shanaka.
Captain Hasaranga is aware that teams must be ready for any situation, since
World Cup surfaces in the Caribbean and the USA are expected to fluctuate from
batting-friendly to occasionally slow and low, akin to subcontinental wickets.
“We saw in the ODIs that going in with just one
allrounder worked. When we play on good wickets we can play like that. The
batters have confidence when they know the wicket is good. In T20s also I would
very much like to play like that,” he said on the eve of the first T20I.
“Because I bowl four overs [along with his batting], there is also a line
of thinking as to whether we need another bowling option or not.
“So the plan largely depends on the type of wickets we’re playing on as
well; the plan has to suit that. We need to be thinking about the World Cup
coming up when playing these games.”
“If you look at world cricket, we’re one of the
best teams in terms of bowling outfits. If you look at the rankings, myself and
Maheesh [Theekshana] are in the top 10. Dushmantha Chameera was unlucky with
his injury, otherwise he’d also be here. But in his place we have Binura
[Fernando] who has come in, and there’s also Matheesha [Pathirana] and Nuwan
Thushara. We know how good those two are. Dilshan Madushanka is also there.
“In terms of bowlers we have quite a few options,
so when we come to playing on good tracks – especially T20s – we need to see
exactly how to bowl. We’ve bowled on good wickets before, so I think in T20s
it’s from the bowlers that you’re going to win matches.
“The types of wickets we’re going to play on at
the World Cup, there’s a good chance we’ll play on similar wickets during these
next six games. With that we’ll be aiming to figure out how we can win a game
with our combination of bowlers.”