After their worst ever Test defeat in the history earlier this week, Sri Lanka are set to make a few changes for the final Test against India in Delhi that gets underway on Saturday.
Veteran spinner Rangana Herath was due to fly back home on Thursday due to back pain and a change in the bowling department will not be the only one the tourists are set to do for Delhi. Sri Lanka are expected to leave out vice-captain Lahiru Thirimanne as well with questions being raised about his temperament after a series of poor shots since his return to the Test side after more than a year.
Thirimanne was axed from the side in June last year with doubts about his temperament and several injuries brought him back to the ODI side in August this year. Although he had not done much in domestic cricket or with the ‘A’ team, the 28-year-old was given a break for the Test series in UAE and was named vice-captain.
Thirimanne collected a duck and scored seven runs in the first Test in Abu Dhabi and missed the second Test in Dubai due to injury. He was retained for the Test series in India and managed to score a half-century in the first innings in Kolkata, but in Nagpur, in both innings was dismissed playing rash shots. Sri Lanka are demanding more from their number three.
“It is to me the most important position in the batting order – number three. Sometimes you walk in in the first over or you stay in the dressing room for two or three sessions. The mental switch that you have to do between certain scenarios is huge,” Gurusinha, who himself was a successful number three batsman told Cricbuzz.
The early dismissal of opener Sadeera Samarawickrama followed by that of Thirimanne has exposed Sri Lanka’s middle order too early in the innings. “It is affecting us. It is a lie if we say no. Thiri played some very bad shots in the last game which he shouldn’t have. You said the word temperament and that is lacking,” Gurusinha said.
Top order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva is likely to take Thirimanne’s place following a good tour of West Indies with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team.
Gurusinha faulted his batsmen’s lack of ability to bat for long hours. “The biggest issue that we are having is that we are not batting three or four sessions. That’s where we are struggling. If you are going to get 400 runs in an innings, you need at least one guy to bat long. That was one reason why we won against Pakistan as we scored 400 plus and batted for more than 150 overs,” Gurusinha noted.
Gurusinha felt that an overdose of T20 cricket is harming some of the young players. “Young guys who are coming into the Test squad are playing too much T20 cricket. Even schools are playing T20 tournaments. In three day games, they keep playing all these shots and get away, but Test cricket is Test cricket. The name says it all. It tests your mental toughness and your skill. That’s what we are lacking at the moment.”
But when pointed out that India thrive on T20 cricket having allocated almost two months of the calendar for the IPL, Gurusinha argued that India’s first-class structure was strong. “I was talking to a couple of people in Indian coaching staff and it is their Ranji Trophy which is quite strong. You take Ranji Trophy, there are big scores in every game. Even though they play IPL, all players need to go back to Ranji Trophy and perform.”
“Everyone is talking about Jasprit Bumrah, the T20 bowler. He is playing Ranji Trophy and is amongst wickets. I think India has told him that we are interested in you playing Test cricket, but you’ve got to go back and prove it to us. What IPL has done is to give so much talent. But they are harnessing in so many areas, one-dayers and Tests and building on that. I would love to have a scenario where we have to drop or rest someone and the replacement is someone who averages 50 in Tests.”
