11 January 2024 12:58 pm Views - 3921
By: Harsha Amarasinghe
Shanaka who has been short of runs for nearly a year was stripped of captaincy after the fifty over World Cup in which Sri Lanka failed to finish in the top eight - missing out on the Champions Trophy 2025.
Under the new selection committee led by Upul Tharanga many expected Shanaka to be dropped from the ODI sqaud as he has only managed to score 238 runs in his last 24 ODIs at an average of 12.
In the first two ODIs against Zimbabwe Shanaka only made 8 and 7 respectively which is why the third ODI is going to be a bit of a do-or-die situation for the former skipper. Sri Lanka will be batting it out for an ODI series win against Zimbabwe on Thursday while for Shanaka it's going to be a fight to save his ODI career.
Liyanage Writing His Own Story
Despite the World Cup humiliation in India, most of the batters of the current national team appeared to be safe. Apart from Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka and Sadeera Samarawickrama no other batsmen has had a consistent run of form. A fine example is Kusal Mendis who has only scored three centuries after playing 123 ODIs. For some reason many tend to believe that he is going to be the next Sri Lankan batting sensation after the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardane and TM Dilshan, but in reality the right hander has not even come close to living up to those expectations for nearly a decade now despite his troubles on and off the field. His inconsistency was rewarded recently when he was named captain of ODI team because it seemed like selectors think that there are no replacements for players like Mendis in the domestic circuit. This school of thought dealt a severe blow when Janith Liyanage scored a match-winning half century against Zimbabwe in the second ODI.
The former Peterite would have never gotten an opportunity if not for the injury to Pathum Nissanka and his innings may not just help him establish in the ODI team, but also send a message to the selectors that there is enough talent in the domestic league, all they need is an opportunity to prove.
Avishka Fernando didn't make most of the opportunities he got on his comeback and if Kusal Mendis continues to be short of runs, it's high time players like Janith Liyanage given a proper run