Pages

Friday 8 April 2011

Who Should Lead Sri Lanka?




Sri Lanka-Make Angelo Mathews Captain!
Wow........what a fall out that has ensued in Sri Lankan Cricket since the World Cup defeat.....!
Firstly Kumar Sangakkara relinquishes the Odi/T20 Captaincy and will stay on as Test leader only in the short term.Then Mahela Jayawardene quits as Vice Captain followed by the Selection Committee giving up their posts.Also Trevor Bayliss gave up the Coaching position to be replaced by fellow Australian Stuart Law
So reading between the lines it seems that the Sri Lankan powers that be have decided that after coming up short by being Runners Up in the previous two World Cups.That their planning for a full assault on the 2015 version begun as soon as India hit the winning runs.This indeed has merits for it's time to try all the precocious youth on the paradise Island to see which are the men for 2015.Logically the two most important men going forward will be the leaders of the Team.
So this begs the question as to who they should be?
In the short term the logical replacement would be Tillekeratne Dilshan.Which in the interim would indeed be a very adequate choice.Though with the actions of the incumbents to quit it would appear that they are indicating the need for the Team to be built around youth.So as such Dilshan will be unlikely to be in the next World Cup
Thus this leaves Sri Lanka with only a few options in maybe Upul Tharanga or Lasith Malinga. Though like Dilshan these players would be fine in the short term,but not in the long term.
The wise decision would be to select two young players as leaders and allow them to build the Team around them...........
So with this in mind it would be a great decision to give the natural leader in Angelo Mathews the Captaincy in Odis and T20.Then in a years time when Kumar Sangakkara relinquishes the role in Test cricket too.Mathews would have the experience in leading the Team in the shorter forms of the game.To be reasonably comfortable and confident in his pedigree to lead Sri Lanka in Tests.
The choosing of his under study would also be a choice for the 2015 World Cup with youth in mind......
I'd install Dinesh Chandimal as his Vice Captain with this Tournament in mind.For there is no doubt young Chandimal is the young star on the rise in Sri Lankan Cricket.Who not only has very refined skill,but also that rare gem of natural leadership
This will provide Sri Lanka with a Captain at 23 in Mathews and a Vice Captain at 21 in Chandimal.Both who over the next four years will gain in experience in leadership and arrive at the 2015 World Cup at the peak of their powers as players and as leaders.

It would indeed be an inspired choice for Sri Lanka's future!

No comments:

Post a Comment