With the 2027 Cricket World Cup less than a year away, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England will have one eye firmly fixed on the sport’s showpiece event as they lock horns in the ODI tri-series. All three are former world champions, but their fortunes have fluctuated in recent years, leaving them languishing in the middle of the ICC rankings, between fifth and seventh. By the end of the month, they could well have traded places.
To Sri Lanka’s credit, ODIs have been one format in which they have punched above their weight in recent years. Series victories over India and Australia in the last 24 months helped them avoid the embarrassment of having to go through the qualifying tournament to book their World Cup ticket, as was the case last time around.
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There have been those who have poured cold water on those victories over the world’s top two ranked sides, arguing that they were achieved on pitches tailor made for Sri Lanka’s spinners. Fair enough, but the victory at Headingley last month was a timely reminder that Sri Lanka can hold their own even on flat tracks, far removed from the comforts of home.
Having identified a core group of players, Sri Lanka must now resist the temptation to chop and change at the first sign of trouble. Patience, after all, is not a virtue that has always come naturally to our selectors.
Take Avishka Fernando, for example. From his schooldays, he was earmarked as a clean striker of the cricket ball and at just 21, he announced himself on the world stage with a World Cup hundred at Chester-le-Street.
That should have been reason enough to persevere with him through the inevitable lean patches. Instead, a handful of failures, particularly in the T20 format, saw him pushed into the wilderness. He has now battered down the selection door with a mountain of runs for SSC in domestic cricket.
Sri Lanka would do well to back him this time. The last thing the selectors should do is reward his ODI performances with a T20 recall, only to discard him from both formats should things go pear shaped in the shortest version. That would be a familiar mistake and one Sri Lanka can ill afford to repeat.
Of course, Avishka himself could have done more to remain in the reckoning. Talent opens doors, but consistency keeps them open.
Something similar has happened with Charith Asalanka. Yes, he endured a miserable tour of England, but his overall ODI record makes a compelling case for his inclusion. Ranked 16th in the world, he remains Sri Lanka’s second highest ranked ODI batter. Surely, a player with those credentials deserves more than the occasional knee jerk reaction to a poor series.
The selectors must also make up their minds about the all-rounder’s slot. At present, Sri Lanka seem to have too many players who can bowl a little and bat a little, without quite mastering either discipline. A jack of all trades is of little use if he cannot deliver when the chips are down.
Janith Liyanage, for one, commands his place on batting merit alone. If he can chip in with a couple of overs of seam, that should be a bonus rather than a prerequisite. With Janith in the side, it is difficult to see where Dasun Shanaka fits into the equation.
Then there is the Dunith Wellalage conundrum. There is little doubt that he should be an automatic choice in subcontinental conditions, where his left-arm spin can be a potent weapon. But will he offer the same value on the hard, bouncy surfaces of South Africa?
Would Sri Lanka be better served by someone like Milan Rathnayake, who offers seam bowling options and useful runs down the order? These are precisely the questions the selectors must answer now rather than scramble for solutions on the eve of the World Cup.
It is a pity that Pathum Nissanka has failed to recover from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the T20I series. His absence places an even greater responsibility on Kusal Mendis to provide the solid starts that have become so crucial to Sri Lanka’s ODI fortunes.
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This could also be the breakthrough series that Pavan Rathnayake has been waiting for. Sahan Arachchige, meanwhile, deserves an extended run after repeatedly making his case with impressive performances for Sri Lanka ‘A’.
The fast bowling department looks particularly encouraging and it is evident that the selectors are handling Lahiru Kumara with care. His injury history demands caution, but when the World Cup comes around, Sri Lanka may have to roll the dice.
Genuine pace is a precious commodity, and Kumara possesses it in abundance. On the fast, bouncy surfaces of the Wanderers or Newlands, he could be worth his weight in gold.
