Sri Lanka’s young batting star, Charith Asalanka admitted that he is comfortable batting at the crucial No. 3 position following a career-defining, unbeaten knock against Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup – Super 12 match in Sharjah on Sunday.
Reporting from Dubai
Asalanka scored a brilliant 49-ball 80 with 5 sixes and 5 fours as Sri Lanka chased Bangladesh score of 171 to register the highest successful run chase in T20Is at Sharjah. Before the Bangladesh game, Sri Lanka had a continuous issue at number 3 as they tried out several others – Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Dhananjaya De Silva in the past few weeks. But, no one succeeded until Asalanka’s emergence.
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“I haven’t had many opportunities to bat at number 3. During the South Africa series, I batted at numbers 4 and 5. After Mahela aiya came into the setup, I was asked to bat at number 3 and Avishka at 4. I personally like batting at number 3 because I have batted at number 3 since my school days and I am comfortable with it.” Asalanka said on the eve of the Sri Lanka vs Australia Super 12 match in Dubai.
Former captain of the Sri Lanka U19 team in 2016, Asalanka has been rated highly in the island as a future national captain in the making. He has also won the Schoolboy cricketer of the year twice in 2015 and 2016. He batted at number three position for Richmond College, Sinhalese Sports Club, Sri Lanka U19, Sri Lanka Emerging Team and Sri Lanka ‘A’ team but have not got many chances in the Sri Lanka national team.
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“To be able to win a match for my country is an amazing feeling, especially in a World Cup. I hope to win more games for Sri Lanka in the future. Even though I have played only a few matches, all the youngsters including me have learnt a lot from the seniors such as Kusal Perera, Dasun Shanaka and Dinesh Chandimal. We, as a team hope to win more and more games in the future.” Asanka further stated.
Asalanka made his international debut in England only a few months ago. But, the maturity he showed against Bangladesh in a high-pressure chase having only played 13 international games will be very encouraging for a country which is trying to regain their lost glory in limited-overs cricket.
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Sri Lanka head coach, Mickey Arthur, who has seen the development of many youngsters in his career as an international coach, praised the professionalism Asalanka has showed in the past 5-6 months in the national setup.
“To see Charith’s development has been incredible. I remember Charith arriving in our bubble just before we went to England, and then we had the England trip. And to see Charith’s journey from England to where he is now is a credit to himself, the way he’s gone about his work, the professionalism he’s shown. His preparation in every game has been fantastic. And to see a young player like Charith get better and better has been very, very rewarding for us.” Arthur said.
