It’s funny how opportunities come your way. Aged 19, Asanka Gurusinha was handed his Test debut in Karachi in 1985 with the added responsibility of keeping wickets. What a remarkable player Gura turned out to be for Sri Lanka, eventually graduating to become the team’s ever reliable number three.
When you identify something special in a player, you need to back it. Injuries have put Sri Lanka’s selectors in a similar predicament, forcing them to look for replacements for three batters and ushering several young players into the fold.
Young Sonal Dinusha looks set at number six given how superbly he batted in Galle on a challenging pitch. A hundred in the first innings followed by 84 in the second essay underlined his temperament. Head Coach Gary Kirsten didn’t mince his words when he said he wished the rest of his batters would borrow a leaf out of Dinusha’s book. He also urged authorities to play more Tests.
Dinesh Chandimal, who was ruled out with concussion, has to stay out of cricket for seven days under ICC regulations and that means Pasindu Sooriyabandara, who came in for him and endured a baptism of fire in Test cricket, will retain his place for the second Test.
Sooriyabandara has been a heavy run scorer in domestic cricket in recent years and the Galle expedition unexpectedly turned into his Test debut. There was no cap awarding ceremony and no family in the stands to wish him well. Instead, he simply had to walk out to bat in the fading light and collected a first ball duck. Not quite the stuff of childhood dreams. He should fare far better at the SSC and ought to enjoy conditions on the best batting surface in the country.
Then there is Kamil Mishara, who will probably make his Test debut and open the batting. Already a mainstay in the white ball sides, Mishara smashed a breathtaking 145 off 72 balls, the highest individual score in T20 cricket in Sri Lanka on Thursday. Two hours later, the selectors were on the phone telling him to check into the team hotel. Opportunity sometimes knocks; on this occasion, it arrived before Mishara had time to catch his breath.
Sahan Arachchige, too, has been a prolific run scorer in domestic cricket and has skippered Sri Lanka ‘A’ with distinction. Although he has been drafted into the squad, it is unlikely that he will make his debut at the SSC. He will serve as the reserve batter and should be on the plane to Pakistan later this year as well.
The exciting part is that Sri Lanka are getting a glimpse of their future. The frustrating part is that these young men are being given precious few opportunities to build Test careers.
This will be only the second and last Test played in Sri Lanka this year. It is deeply disappointing that younger players do not get more opportunities to play Test cricket. Ideally, Sri Lanka should be playing around ten Tests a year. Sadly, we do not even come close to that figure, while a three Test series has become something of a collector’s item these days.
This is an issue the authorities need to address with urgency. For a country that put in the hard yards, fought many battles and waited so long to gain Test status, we are not doing nearly enough to safeguard the interests of the format.
The future of Sri Lankan cricket will be on show at the SSC. The question is whether we will give that future enough Test cricket to flourish.
