India Tour : What are the Questions that need Answering?

The tour is done and dusted, and the results were as expected. By me at least, because it appears that a lot of people expect professional sportsmen to be able to turn up at no notice and be at the top of their game. And while this may be true of your average weekend badminton player, it is certainly not true of those who take their preparation seriously.

With that in mind, I was expecting little from this series. And you should have done the same. Regardless of what the fans think though, it is reasonable to expect the media to react with some perspective, and also some balance. So when I saw the back page headline ‘RIP Sri Lanka Cricket’ today, I really was incensed. How insensitive is it, when your captain scores his maiden, and brilliant, ODI hundred to have a picture of him arms aloft, with the headline ‘RIP Sri Lanka Cricket’. I really do NOT get how sports journalism lacks any sense of analysis or understanding in this part of the world. At least India’s ‘experts’ are a little more articulate although their press is just as myopic and jingoistic.

Now that the series is over, there are a few things that need addressing. Obviously. These are what I think they are, in no particular order:

1. Fielding – Is and has been for a while, a massive problem. With a number of wicket keeper batsmen in the side it’s little surprise that SL’s best fielder is nearly 40 years old. Dilshan also, despite being the best of a bad lot, is past the days where he could terrify batsmen at point. The dropped catches with dogged the series, and the impotence of the in fielders to put pressure on new batsmen, was obvious.

While Ruwan Kalpage was around, the fielders were not fit. There’s very little any coach can do with players who are not agile and quick. Now that Kalpage has gone, the team is working on the fitness. Ironic. But hey, that’s Sri Lanka. And poor Kalpage bore the brunt of the blame. Let’s see how he does with Bangladesh.

Drops like the high profile ones from Sangakkara and Thisara Perera who dropped Rohit on 4, can easily be eliminated with a little more practice. Trevor Penney is a guy who can fix that, and hopefully he will.

2. The opening combination – In this series Sri Lankan tried 3 combinations in 5 matches. Upul Tharanga got a game as did Niroshan Dickwella, and the rest of the games were given to Kushal Janith Perera. Tharanga is not in form and looked very much like he was playing for his place. KJP coming back from an injury got some good balls from an Indian attack that was bowling very well. Dickwella, well what can you say after one game?

It is pretty clear that despite Dilshan’s unpredictability with the bat, he will open at the World Cup. I say unpredictability because he’s not scoring winning runs anymore. Previously, Dilshan used to bat with authority and urgency. Now he seems content to knock it about and survive, while playing quite a few dot balls. If that is the game he is going to play, we need someone at the other end to up the rate. If Mahela doesn’t do it, then on the bouncier pitches of Australia, they may have to look at another option.

3. Chandimal – If the likes of Kapugedera and Mubarak had been given as much opportunity as Chandimal has, then I think they would have come good. In a 6 year period Kapugedera played 92 ODIs. In a staggering 11 year period Mubarak has played only 40 ODIs and Chandimal, the Golden Boy has already played 87 ODIs in under 4 years.

Given that the two former players were middle order batsmen usually having to slug it out when they come to the middle and the latter is getting plenty of opportunities regularly at no. 3 and 4, it does seem to be a bit of a double standard when it comes to selection. Mubarak was far and away the leading run scorer in domestic cricket this year and Kapugedera has smashed a couple of hundreds already in the Bangladesh Premier League, and while the competition may not be up there, it is important to have players who know what’s required in the middle order. It is a difficult game to play, and there needs to be some consistency. Whether Ashan Priyanjan has done enough to warrange continued selection in a place he hasn’t toured before is also a question.

4. Bowling all rounders – Thisara Perera has been ineffective this series. He is still suffering from a hamstring injury and that could be partly the reason. However, he does need to be in the side, there’s little or no question about that. The other issue is the spin bowlers. If Sachithra makes a come back that’s great. But if he doesn’t Jeevan Mendis has done exceptionally well both in the Caribbean Premier League as well as the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League. The former Thomian captain has grown in stature as his career has gone on and playing alongside the likes of internationals from other countries has helped his game. Is he a better option with the bat than Seekuge Prassanna? Almost certainly. And with the ball the answer is yes, again. He is also a brilliant fielder. Food for thought for Jayasuriya.

5. Fitness – It was widely circulated that the Sri Lankans were in the middle of a fitness camp when the series was thrust upon them. It is difficult to assess therefore, why there was so much lethargy on the field. I can understand if it was in the first game but it was right through the series. The players, if they’re coming off fitness, had enough time since the series was announced to taper off and get fresh and work on things like agility.

That doesn’t seem to have happened. The players look tired and drained. And that’s not a good combination. So the question of whether the fitness we are doing is addressing the problems that existed is another question that needs to be asked. Quickly.

Is this team going to win the world cup if it’s played tomorrow? Absolutely not. Can it win the world cup on schedule. Perhaps. If issues are dealt with smartly. The biggest problems seem to be on the plates of Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu.