The poor form over the last few months tells a tale of how far Sri Lanka has fallen behind in the wake of the retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
They have arrived in India with the ‘Underdogs’ tag and on paper, look like they will struggle to cope up with the other in-form teams in their upcoming ICC World T20 2016 campaign.
The Lankans were, luckily, ranked number 1 in the ICC T20 ranking at the beginning of last year but bilateral series losses to New Zealand and India plus their worst-ever performance at an Asia Cup, where they finished 4th out of 5 teams after losing three of four matches, dragged them to as low as 8th in the rankings going into the ICC World T20. Since the 2014 World T20, they have played 14 T20Is out of which they won four and lost ten.
But all of that will be in the past as Sri Lanka is a side that loves the big stage and have always performed exceptionally well at ICC events under any circumstances. The 15-man squad is a blend of experience and talented youth, and if they can fire in unison, Sri Lanka will be a team to watch out for. Sri Lanka’s biggest strength lies in the fact that despite being the defending champions they are not carrying much expectations. With the spotlight focused away from them, they can go out and play freely.
Photo Album – Sri Lanka Team for the ICC World T20 2016
While experience and form were always going to be major issues for Sri Lanka, no positive update on Lasith Malinga’s recovery from his knee injury has added to their woes. He resigned as captain a few days before the start of the tournament and the responsibility was handed over to Angelo Mathews by a new national selection committee headed by Aravinda De Silva and chaired by Kumar Sangakkara and etc.
Bowling Strength
If Lasith Malinga can recover on time and play most of the matches, Sri Lanka has a good barrage of T20 fast-bowlers in the likes of Nuwan Kulasekara and Dushmantha Chameera to support the ‘Slinger’. Malinga is the leading bowler in the history of the World T20 taking 38 wickets during the last five tournaments. Chameera will be the surprise package as he can trouble the opposition with raw pace and bounce.
The absence of a quality spinner is Sri Lanka’s major concern. Rangana Herath is in the twilight of his career and will look to produce one or two match-winning performances with the ball. Sachithra Senanayake has been leaking runs ever since he remodelled his action while the likes of Milinda Siriwardana and Shehan Jayasuriya can only make up for a few overs and do not look like they will play a pivotal role on square-turning Indian pitches.
Batting Strength
Tillakaratne Dilshan is by far the most-senior member of the side. He is representing Sri Lanka in the 6th consecutive ICC World T20 event and most probably his last. He had a torrid time recently with the bat but he is also someone who has lifted his game in big tournaments. He will have to play a massive role if Sri Lanka are to punch above their weight in the upcoming mega-tournament.
Lahiru Thirimanne was a late draft into the squad, he provides invaluable stability to the top order. He made scores of 41 and 45 in the warm-ups which justified his selection but all eyes will be on the left-hander to see whether he can perform consistently.
Dinesh Chandimal has shown glimpses of brilliance time and again but there is still much left wanting. He has reverted to an older and more natural style of batting, where he has found more success. As the vice-captain and as the leader of the house, ‘Chandi’ will be itching to provide good starts.
Prediction
Sri Lanka is in a group which has a clear favourite to progress to the semi-finals, in South Africa but they have a history of choking in ICC events. The other teams are England, West Indies and Afghanistan. All in all, Sri Lanka can be lethal on sub-continent conditions. History tells us that they have made it to the knockouts in all the inaugural edition and are known to bloom at the big stage. Recent form tells a different story though. Progressing to the last four will be counted as an achievement but cricket is an unpredictable game and anything is possible.
Squad
Angelo Mathews (captain), Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thisara Perera, Sachithra Senanayake, Dasun Shanaka, Milinda Siriwardana, Lahiru Thirimanne, Suranga Lakmal.
