Chenul Wahalathanthri
Full Interview – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOyzBFOX-2c
Bhanukha Rajapaksha said in his recent interview with Danushka Aravinda. That he will be working hard to achieve the new fitness level, but added that the performance of players must also be considered rather than only focussing on the running fitness.
He also questioned the new contract method where he has been ignored, saying that players have concerns on how some non-performing players have received higher contracts. (News Wire)
AJ, why bring up religion? Why blame one religious group for all our woes? That method was used against Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka and now it is being used by Sinhalese to harm other Sinhalese. Let’s be more intelligent.
Dias ,exactly the issue, the born again group ruined our cricket. Everyone knows that. Spoken in the parliament. Were you not there then? This Banuka chap says he is born again & such useless player is being upstaged by this group for that only. How can we improve then? We need a clean up.
What a useless and unwanted comments of AJ to bring the subject of religion into this forum. May be for him what has been spoken in the parliament on born again is very valuable. But we all know that majority of the Sri Lankan citizens don’t give a damn respect to most of the subjects talked or discussed in our parliament. I can write pages on Bhanuka’s born again and about the great values of that to the people who believe that., but I am not going to continue this unnecessary conversation on religion as it will only spoil the good reputation of this cricket forum.
All I can say is that Bhanuka is the only top order batsman SL have, who can bat as a power hitter and can change the complexion of the game single handedly with his super batting qualities as proved by him on achieving the highest Overall Average Strike Rate of 131% and a Sixes Strike Rate of only 11 balls where he has the best performance records in T20I matches among all SL batters (according to Cricinfo Records for the last 2/3 years). He also has scored 61% of his runs in boundaries and sixes which is also the highest. HE IS AN ASSET TO OUR T20 TEAM. THERE MAY BE ONE OR TWO BATTERS IN THE WORLD WHO CAN BAT IN THE TOP ORDER AND SCORE SIXES AT A STRIKE RATE OF LESS THAN 11 BALLS.
I am not surprised why Mickey Arthur is so much upset with Bhanuka, because he is one of the only three guys among our cricketers (but only guy among the current crop) who can fluently talk with Mickey in English and give him back very strongly during conversations.
We should not forget one more thing. Although Mickey is very highly talking now on Fitness he had a very bad history on handling Fitness issues as a head coach. In 2019 he was sacked by Pakistan from the head coach position as he picked (and gave chances) to several unfit players which was proved as the reason for Pakistanis doing badly in last years world cup (this story anybody can check in the internet). So how can we say that he has a good past reputation as a head coach who has been respecting Fitness issue. He only has a bad reputation in not handling Fitness as a head coach.
I am not trying to say that Bhanuka should not be treated badly for his fitness failures. There is no ultimatum for him. He must bring down his Skin Fold value below 85%. But the most important thing is, SLC should not impose this requirement with a time frame of only 6 months. At least all players should be given minimum one year period for the Skin Fold Test. (may be for the 2 km run 6 month period is enough). This is where Mickey’s handling of Fitness issues is highly questionable and our Cricket Committee (headed by Arawinda) must look into this seriously. If a player has started to improve on Skin Fold Test and if he can prove some improvement during the last few months, he should be considered for international matches.
This is very vital, considering the fact that we have got only two T20 series before the WC. IN THIS SITUATION BHANUKA SHOULD BE SELECTED FOR THE ENGLAND TOUR (as he already has improved on his Skin Fold Value working with two fitness trainers). That will enable him to play in the top and do a Power Hitters role and gained the most important experience to bring great repute to SL in the T20 WC.
SUSANTHA JAYAWARDENA
Th
Looking at the thread it is evident that you are the one who brings the subject of religion into this forum by saying “GOD’S PUNISHMENT FOR DISCRIMINATING THE PLAYERS AGAINST CHRISTIANITY”.
You also said, “I can write pages on Bhanuka’s born again and about the great values of that to the people who believe that”. Looking at it seems that you are a born again too and it is the reason why you only want to defend Banuka because he is of the same faith as yours
Today I have seen you have posted many anti-Sri Lankan Cricket posts. Why are you so angry about SLC suddenly?