24 July 2024 09:11 pm Views - 1569
Wanindu Hasaranga as the T20 captain was always going to be a wild punt. It could have gone either way, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) may not have expected to see one of their own players to become so unpopular among the fans in such a short period of time. In terms of cricket, Hasaranga could have probably been given more time to find his feet as a leader, but several incidents leading up to the decision, as discussed in the previous week’s column has now brought about a change in leadership.
Interestingly though, both Asalanka and Hasaranga have played cricket together for such a long time dating back to Under - 15 cricket at Richmond College, but at that level only one of them was always
considered for captaincy - Asalanka.
Richmond had a dream run under Asalanka - a boy that was meant to be a captain all along. He was brilliant with the bat and magnificent as a leader.
Asalanka would later go on to be the Under-19 captain of Sri Lanka and since then groomed to be the captain of the national team. Having solidified his place in the white-ball formats, his time has finally come. So what could we expect from Asalanka the captain?
Asalanka would bring in the much needed calmness for the national team.
Under the captaincy of Hasaranga Sri Lanka involved in some unnecessary chaos especially in Bangaladesh with regard to the celebrations as well as continued mocking in press conferences.
It was felt that Sri Lanka themselves made Bangladesh - a team that has never even been in a World Cup semi final - their arch rival. With Asalanka at the helm, Sri Lanka would be a less controversial
team.
Jaffna Kings bagged another Lanka Premier League (LPL) title last week under the captaincy of Asalanka. Tactically he looks like someone who favours the textbook style compared to someone like
Mahela Jayawardane who sort of came up with some really innovative ideas during his time as captain such as bowling fast bowlers in power-play with no third man (at times) or unleashing the likes of Akila Dananjaya in a World Cup with almost no experience.
While Jayawardane was probably Sri Lanka’s best ever captain in terms of tactics - he was also very fortunate to have options such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis for most of his career. Asalanka doesn’t unfortunately have such a group of bowlers who could be branded world-class which is why he is going to be tested in the coming week against top players such as Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal.