A fit KJP, huge relief for Sri Lanka

by Rex Clementine

When Kusal Janith Perera hurt his hamstring during the recent series against South Africa, it was a huge concern for the Sri Lankans and there were doubts whether he will be available for the qualifying round of the ICC T-20 World Cup that will get underway shortly. However, the former captain has pulled through and he is expected to be available for the qualifiers.

Given his vast experience, KJP is an important member in the Sri Lankan camp and he has proved to be a match winner in all three formats. Particularity in T-20 cricket, with his ability to find the boundary frequently, he is a dangerous player and fans have not yet seen the best of the left-handed batsman.

Sri Lanka will play Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea in two warm-up games before the qualifying round with the Bangladesh game slotted for today followed by the PNG game on Thursday.

Sri Lanka play Namibia, Ireland and Netherlands in the qualifiers on the 18th, 20th and 22nd October, respectively. The fixtures against Namibia and Ireland are in Abu Dhabi while the Netherlands game is in Sharjah.

This has been tough year for KJP as he has missed lot of cricket due to illness and injury. He hurt his shoulder during the series in England and was ruled out for the home series against India. He was expected to make a comeback for the South Africa white ball games, but tested positive for COVID and his return was delayed.

Sri Lanka won both their encounters against Oman last week where they did not play KJP. Dasun Shanaka’s side were also without the services of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera as they were on IPL duty. Both IPL signings joined the Sri Lankan squad in Abu Dhabi Sunday night. Given their intense preparation and playing quality opponents like South Africa recently should stand in good stead for the Sri Lankans during qualifiers and they are expected to go through unbeaten.

Realistically, not many fancy Sri Lanka making it to the semi-finals and that takes pressure off from them. If the likes of KJP, Avishka Fernando and Shanaka fire in crunch games, that would be ideal for the former champions as they have showcased that their bowling is good to contain stronger opponents.

Sri Lanka did four changes to their World Cup squad on Saturday, the last day to submit teams for the ICC.

The selectors were forced to replace Nuwan Pradeep and Lahiru Madushanka as they were injured and brought in fast bowlers Binura Fernando and Lahiru Kumara. They also benched Kamindu Mendis and Praveen Jayawickrama opting for batsman Pathum Nissanka and off-spinner Akila Dananjaya. The selection of Dananjaya surprised many as he has struggled with his form in recent months.

If they qualify, Sri Lanka will compete in Group 1 in the second round where their opponents will be England, Australia, South Africa, West Indies and a qualifier from the other group, which probably is going to be Scotland.

It’s been quite a journey for Sri Lankan cricket in the last six months. The selectors took a bold step when they benched half a dozen seniors for white ball cricket but they were back to square one when three players who were expected to form the nucleus of their side – Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella – were served lengthy suspensions for breaching the bio-secure bubble in England.

The young team has shown immense character since then while the selectors have recalled Dinesh Chandimal. The experience of Angelo Mathews could have come in handy but bridges had been burned to a point of no return.