Mid-Wicket
With several seniors missing from the Sri Lanka national team–having being dropped, retired, or making themselves unavailable–the selectors are hoping their young guns will grab the opportunities coming their way. Except for sporadic performances, however, there’s no great sign of a competitive team in the making–at least, for now.
Many of the batters average in the mid-20s in the T20 format and strike the ball a little over 100. Sri Lanka’s biggest worry is, therefore, their batting as they approach the World Cup starting next week. Kusal Janith Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva form the core group in the current batting line-up but they lack the consistency required to make Sri Lanka a competitive outfit.
Head Coach Mickey Arthur is still optimistic that recent changes to the batting composition will pay off. Against Oman, the top order collapsed but the middle order hung on to provide a winning platform. The form of Avishka Fernando and Dasun Shanaka, two good strikers of the leather, was a good sight. That said, the challenge ahead is tougher…