Sri Lanka captain warns of player amateurism

Beleaguered Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka warned his team and even the behind-the-scene think-tanks of being left behind after underdog Zimbabwe pulled off a stunning 67 run win against the islanders in the Pakistan T20 triangular on Thursday.

Shanaka was the only Sri Lanka batter to offer some resistance with a top score of 34 in pursuit of a 163 target while the rest fell like nine pins

“The intent was not there from the beginning”, said Shanaka as he lashed out at the outcome of the match after Zimbabwe successfully defended a 162 target in 20 overs.

Sri Lanka never made any winnable headway in pursuit of the target other than a few sparks that came off the bat of Shanaka who top scored with 34 as the team was dismissed for a paltry 95.

One of the Sri Lankan batters to make a mockery of the proceedings was the recalled Bhanuka Rajapakse who apparently caused the run-out of his partner Kusal Mendis and a few balls later stepped out of his crease in the second ball of the eighth over as if Sri Lanka needed a six off the last ball of the 20th over only to have his stumps shattered by a ball from fast bowler Brad Evans.

The manner in which he was dismissed only raised questions on his selection ahead of Pavan Ratnayake who was brought in as a replacement for Charith Asalanka.

Coach Sanath Jayasuriya who continues to have his ups and downs having lost the ODI series is likely to have much more on his plate as Sri Lanka not only caved in but was also pushed down in the run-rate and a defeat in today’s match against Pakistan could spell more trouble for the team in the present scenario.

According to Shanaka, Jayasuriya needs to buckle up.

“I think he (Jayasuriya) should have strong words. He’s being giving us a lot of confidence and we have not done it well”, said Shanaka.

His Zimbabwe counterpart Sikandar Raza was a much happier man leading a set of young players who bowled and fielded conceding just five fours in the 20 overs to Sri Lanka.