They carried aspirations of a wounded nation and led the Lankan brand of Cricket for more than a decade. They played 376 ODIs together, which is more than any other pair in cricketing history, but on 18th March, they played their final ODI. Sanga-Mahela bromance will never be erased from any cricket fanatic’s hearts or minds.
It is a bitter pill to swallow for most, not be seeing that cheeky late cut of Mahela or the elegant cover drive of Sanga ever again in Sri Lanka ODI colours. The Cricket fraternity around the world have shown their respect to the best cricketing buddies through various social media networks throughout the last few days because they were loved by all and they were heroes to millions of people but no matter what, we will have to move on in a life without Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
Sri Lanka defeated the most less-advanced ODI team going around – England, 9th ranked Bangladesh and two associate nations, Afghanistan and Scotland. They failed to notch up victories against the strong co-hosts New Zealand and Australia while they choked against South Africa in a knock out clash. Can Sri Lanka be satisfied with their World Cup campaign?
Sri Lanka will not be playing any ODI cricket for the next few months and many will be wondering how the Lankan team will look like when they take the field next time around. It will be hard to fill the boots left by Sanga and Mahela but as many predict, Thirimanne and Chandimal will be the next batting duo to anchor the batting.
Thirimanne’s makeup of batting is just perfect for the number 3 position and Sri Lanka will be hoping that he will keep a legacy of being the predecessor of Sangakkara in the next decade. Chandimal is a wily sort of batsmen but his abilities were proved during his quick-fire half-ton against Australia. Chandimal has a very good track record in seam-friendly surfaces but as any great Asian batsman, he will have to work on his game and score consistently in sub-continent conditions.
After the retirement of Aravinda De Silva, Mahela took up the responsibility of being the match-winner at number 4. Sri Lanka selectors must trust the likes of Ashan Priyanjan to stabilize themselves in the team and perform constantly. Sanga and Mahela were not consistent in their early days, they disappointed many times but they learned from their mistakes. Let’s hope the next generation will do the same.
Captain Marvel – Angelo Mathews will be the key player and we will not be surprised if he promotes himself to number 4 as well with the likes of Dinesh Chandimal and Ashan Priyanjan to follow. Hopefully the Selectors will not perceive Kusal Janith Perera as an opener but he can be used as a power-hitting middle order batsman in future. Rebuilding process of the team will be very hard and many games will be lost yet it is time to give opportunities to the likes of Danushka Gunathilake, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Kithruwan Vithanage, Lahiru Milantha and Roshane Silva in the shorter formats of the game. All of the above players have performed well especially Milantha who became the highest run-scorer for Ragama CC in the recently concluded SLC Premier Limited Overs Tournament while Danushka, Bhanuka and Roshane have been in the runs for Sri Lanka ‘A’. Kithruwan recently smashed the highest list A score of 351 by a Sri Lankan.
Dimuth Karunarathne can be groomed as an opening batsman in Tests and ODIs with his strong technique and temperament. He has all the ingredients to be the long-time opening partner for dashing and experienced Tillakaratne Dilshan as many successful teams believe in solid opening stands in this era than quick-fire starts because with wickets in hand, teams batting first can double their score in the final 20 overs taking into account the batsmen-friendly fielding restrictions.
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath should not play ODI cricket as he is also in the twilight of his international career and his creaking joints will not make him young anymore. Sri Lanka must play Rangana in Test matches only due to his control and wicket-taking strength. Left-arm spinner, Malinda Pushpakumara and mystery off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal must be given more and more chances to perform in the big stage of limited-overs cricket. Sachithra Senanayake was bit disappointing down under but he must regain his lost form and become the lead spinner for Sri Lanka.
What are the Lankan fast-bowling stocks? Who can replace Malinga? The slinger will be very vital for Lankan plans in the next 2-3 years or if possible till the next World Cup. Dushmantha Chameera’s raw pace is a huge bonus and if he can work on his accuracy and discipline in line and length he can be a very good asset in the future. His speed must not be compromised as most seamers seem to do when they come to the big league. Young left-arm seam duo of Binura Fernando and Vishwa Fernando representing SSC and Bloomfield respectively might be in contention for a place in the Lankan team due to their knack of picking up wickets while Nuwan Pradeep and Lahiru Gamage must be regular members in the lineup to assist Malinga. Shaminda Eranga and Suranga Lakmal should continue to spearhead the Lankan Test bowling attack and if needed they must be given the white new ball in 50-over cricket.
All is not lost, there is hope and talent coming through the ranks. As Kumar Sangakkara said in the quarter-final match post-match conference, “Sri Lanka Cricket is in safe hands.”
