Looking back to the bowling combination of Vaas and Murali, or even more recently Kulasekara and Malinga, there was always one thing that these bowling partnerships had in common; the ability to take wickets at crucial times.
Free Hit contributor
Those days seem to be long gone for Sri Lanka with Kulasekera losing his swing and Malinga being constantly injured; Sri Lanka’s bowling department seems to be in a bit of a pickle.
Here are some players I think Sri Lanka should consider for the upcoming Australia series, particularly in the limited overs formats:
Right-arm seamer Kasun Rajitha’s potential came through during a three-day game against India in August 2015, where he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in a single spell on his way to 5 for 68.
Producing seam movement at a considerable pace, Rajitha proved to be an impressive T20 bowler in the following domestic championship. He was the second highest wicket taker in the Super T20 Provincial Tournament, with 10 wickets in six matches; which earned him a call-up to the national T20 set up.
Rajitha took 3 wickets for 29 runs on his debut in India earlier this year, dismissing the top order cheaply.
At 6’6” tall, he’s known to produce awkward bounce and swing. Fernando has been among the leading names over the past few years, having picked up 84 wickets in 2013. His amazing performances in school and for the Sri Lanka Under-19 team are what caught the selectors’ eyes and it looks like he will be a very good find for the future.
Having made his debut against Pakistan back in August 2014 in the T20 format, the 20 year old, left-arm seamer only has 3 wickets in the two matches he has played so far. He also took 6 wickets in four T20 matches representing Western Troopers in the SLC Super T20 Provincial Tournament this year. He is now injury free after sustaining a hamstring injury a few months ago.
His domestic career best in the limited over format came at the end of 2015 in the AIA Premier Limited Overs Tournament final, where Perera’s figures were 6/28, which, unfortunately, was not enough for the Colts Cricket Club to beat Nondescripts Cricket Club.
He made his ODI debut at home against England in 2007. With 139 wickets in 153 matches in his List A career and an average of 29.77, Perera will be an ideal replacement for Rangana Herath who retired from the limited over format recently.
Chathuranga de Silva made his international debut in the 2014 Asia Cup. He’s a talented all-rounder who delivers left-arm spin at a sharp pace and could plays a useful innings in the lower middle order.
His List A stats are quite impressive, with 90 wickets in 87 matches going at an average of 26.27. De Silva has been playing for Victoria Sporting Club in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League in the recent past and has proven to be a valuable asset to them; picking up 21 wickets in just 10 matches and scoring 170 runs in the middle order. With momentum on his side, De Silva would be a prized pick for the upcoming Australia series.
Sri Lanka will have to think of a suitable combination; as much as it might be effective to have a batting line up that goes down to number 8 or 9, none of that will matter if our bowlers are unable to get wickets to win the match. The top order batsmen need to convert their good starts into big scores, in which case we will be able to slot in a few pure bowlers to help balance the team.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ThePapare.com.
