More trouble as KJP injured

by Rex Clementine

Even before the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Proteas on Tuesday night began to sink in, Sri Lanka had to come to reality with the fact that they might have to go to next month’s T-20 World Cup without their best player.

Kusal Janith Perera top scored in the Sri Lankan innings in the third T-20 International and looked a class apart from rest of his team mates. However, he did not come to feiled and instead Dinesh Chandimal kept wickets. KJP had recovered after testing positive for COVID and many thought that he may have had breathing issues. However, after the game news emerged that KJP was down with a hamstring injury.

The Island

learns that the former captain was in severe pain on Tuesday night. Although the coaching staff has told SLC that he should be fine for the World Cup starting in UAE next month, the injury prone KJP takes more time than usual to be fully fit.

The coaching staff had informed SLC that at the worst KJP will only miss the bilateral series in Oman before the World Cup.

The opening batsman has a break of ten days before Sri Lanka resume training and the medical staff will be in a better position to assess him then.

It’s been a tough few months for one of the nicest guys in the game. KJP was appointed skipper in June when the selectors benched a whole lot of seniors as they opted to groom young blood for shorter formats of the game. Then, during a bitter pay dispute, KJP took the lead role taking the side of the players and eventually ended up burning a few bridges.

His on field leadership lacked inspiration but given the selectors’ claim that he was the only guy who was sure of his place, he should have been given the long rope. Instead, the selectors put too much on his plate, captaincy, opening batting and wicketkeeping and when things were falling apart, he was made the scapegoat. His captaincy lasted one month.

In England, KJP hurt his shoulder and missed the home series against India due to the injury. Then came COVID which forced him out of the South Africa ODIs and the opening encounter of the T-20 series.

A batting unit that is terribly short on experience and class, badly needs KJP back in action and fans will be hoping that he will be fit by the time Sri Lanka play the qualifying round of the World Cup.

All-rounder Lahiru Madushanka, however, looks to be not so lucky as his injury is more serious. Madushanka had hurt his collarbone and could be replaced for the World Cup.

Addressing the batting woes will be one of the team’s main priorities when they resume training next week. At present, the team is struggling to bat out 20 overs and their woes were magnified with the series being played on turning tracks.

South Africa’s spinners outperformed the Sri Lankan slow bowlers in the series. When the opposition has the quality of Tabraiz Shamsi, Bjorn Fortuin and Keshav Maharaj, it was a massive gamble to prepare turning tracks and in the end, it backfired.