Sri Lanka is a cricketing nation which has produced some brilliant captains. The tally started with Anura Tennekoon and 22 captains have led this world cup winning outfit since then. Disappointingly, 4 of them been appointed in this year.
Arjuna Ranatunga was the first captain to lead the side towards to a World Cup victory in 1996. Lasith Malinga then drove the team towards T20I World Cup glory. The most formidable duo of Lankan cricket Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were also gifted the captaincy but unfortunately, they couldn’t lead the side towards a World Cup win despite coming close on several occasions.
Tillakarathne Dilshan also didn’t show much promise as a Captain but led the team to a famous Test victory on South African soil. Angelo Mathews was the player that Sri Lanka invested in as a captain under the guidance of many legendary players. He was the best possible option for the Lankans to lead the side up to the 2019 World Cup.
Things took a turn for the worse when the team went down 3-2 to Zimbabwe at home, their first ever series defeat at the hands of the lower ranked team. Mathews stepped down and Upul Tharanga was named in his stead. Sri Lanka only managed to win 4 out of the 22 games he was in charge and the leadership was transferred to Thisara Perera. In between, during suspensions faced by Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedara and Lasith Malinga were also given the leadership reins.
Thisara showed some excellent skills as a leader when he led the team during the T20I series against Pakistan and this may have been the reason why the selectors opted to go for all-rounder.
As a batsman Thisara Perera has an average of 17.28 and a strike rate of 108.35 in ODIs. The stats are not great for a modern-day all-rounder. Despite playing international cricket for a number of years, his consistency with both bat and ball, has been severely lacking.
His official captaincy debut was phenomenal as Sri Lanka managed to hammer the hosts by 7 wickets and lead the ODI series 1-0. However, Sri Lanka didn’t show as much fight as anticipated in the remaining games. Thisara Perera didn’t have the best of series either as he only managed to score 11 runs and was expensive with the ball as well.
Prior to the appointment of the new skipper Perera, Sri Lanka Cricket also stated that they are hoping to appoint the captain on a tour by tour basis and will now need to take a decision on Perera.
With limited options available, if the team is to switch things up at the top, they will consider the following 4 options.
- Angelo Mathews
The veteran all-rounder has played almost 200 ODIs and 70 T20Is. Playing under many captains of Sri Lanka, he is a player who can adjust according to the conditions provided. Captaining Sri lanka 98 times in ODIs, Mathews has the temperament and character to lead this inexperienced side. Despite his poor run in 2017 as a captain Mathews showed his skills in the limited overs format.
His battle with injuries sidelined him from many international matches but he marked his comebacks well by playing some astonishing innings and maintaining a good economy rate while bowling. He also performed well in the recently concluded Test series against India and thus he would be a good option to go back to, if he is willing to take up the role once again.
- Dinesh Chandimal
The Test captain could also a good option to lead the side in the limited overs format.
He captained the champion outfit at the 2014 T20 World cup but couldn’t prove much as a player and had to sit out the final as a result. Chandimal has featured 3 times as a captain in ODIs. The right hander is finding it hard in the limited overs format but has been in supreme form in Test cricket. Leading the side upfront with the bat to a series victory in the U.A.E, he also showcased good fight against India in challenging conditions. In his 8 games captaining the team in Test cricket, he has led the team to 3 wins and 3 losses.
Chandimal has an average of 31.92 in ODIS and has managed 4 tons. His recent performance against Pakistan forced the selectors to overlook him for this series but the success of Chandimal in Tests could help him back into the ODI team.
- Upul Tharanga
Tharanga didn’t have the best of the days as a captain, being handed whitewashes from India, Pakistan and South Africa, under his captaincy. A win percentage of 20% in ODIs forced the selectors to recruit a new skipper. But Tharanga ended the calendar year scoring 1000 runs in ODIs and managed to occupy the third spot of the highest run getters list in 2017, behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
With the return of some key players, the Sri Lankan side is stronger and Tharanga is in a prime form in the limited overs format. As the most trustworthy batsman in the lineup, it will be interesting to see if his form helps him regain the captaincy.
4.Niroshan Dickwella
Sri lanka could also go for a young leader. With the results not coming in favour of the islanders, they can experiment by appointing a youngster to lead the team.
The 24-year-old innovative opening batsman has an average of 33.63 in ODIs and has smashed 2 centuries in that format as well. Dickwella has now cemented his position in the playing squad and he also has a healthy captaincy record leading his alma mater Trinity College, Kandy in 2012.
Thisara Perera is struggling to find form and surelt it will force the selectors to change the complexion of the side. Will the Lankans change the fortune of Perera and name their 23rd limited overs captain in 2018?
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Free hit contributor- Adeeb Saleemdeen
