As of today the 3rd of october 2009, the sl cricket team is ranked number seventh in the ODI listings a few points clear of the world minnows Bangladesh and the young west indies side. From a strong and formidable team a few months before the now captain sangakkara took over it has collapsed before our eyes with the loss of the T20 series vs Pakistan and the ODI defeat against India in the recently concluded Compaq cup final held in sri lanka and subsequently the double loss in the champions trophy. One must ask why Sri lanka(winner of the 96 world cup, runners up at the 07 world cup, winner of the asia cup 08) has suddenly slipped down a ghastly crevasse, and wonder whether they are likely to emerge out of it soon.
After the post world cup 96 it was evident to any SL cricket fan that sl had trouble in the middle order and always lacked the fire power in the tail to grasp a few more runs that would deem a far better total. But throughout the year till now this has not become a major issue since jayasooriya nearly always fired, but at 40 today his quick fire innings are quite rare with him only performing a solitary half century once in maybe every ten matches. why are the selectors reserved in selecting a new player with no respect for bowlers such as jayasooriya? do they actually believe that jayasooriya is still a match winner in every match? or is he a liability now? As for my opinion I keep it reserved. It is your call to judge.
As it is your call to judge the captaincy of the current team. Many believe that Sangakkara is right in his way of leading the team, then again as much as the ppl who support him there are some thinking that his attitude lacks a certian respect for his players and other teams alike. It maybe that I am lopsided never liking sangakkara’s attitude ever since he joined the team, but as I there are many who find him disturbing most times. Reminding us of the infamous, rude attitude of the aussies when they were all powerful.
All in all I believe that the sl cricket team should pull their socks up higher than they ever have and start delivering, Not only on spin friendly pitches as they so oftenly have, but also on fast tracks such as in SA, England and the land down under. where their performance has been under par as of recent encounters.
It must also be mentioned that Thilina kandambi, Dilshan and Angelo mathews are a rare treat for sore sri lankan cricket eyes these days. our hope is that maybe a few other young sri lankans get-their-act together and make the team and inject some fresh blood into a much needed corpse.