Kusal Perera To Lead Sri Lanka In ODIs, Senior Players Might Lose Their Spots In Limited-Overs Cricket: Reports

Kusal Perera might be nominated as Sri Lanka’s new skipper in ODIs and many senior players are likely to lose their spots in the limited-overs team. A report by Sunday Times, a daily newspaper in Sri Lanka, has alleged that a number of seniors cricketers of Sri Lanka will lose their spots in limited-overs cricket as the management seeks a major overhaul of Sri Lanka’s ODIs and T20I sides.

Under the process, the management will look to induct young players into the squad for ODIs and T20Is. This strategy worked for Sri Lanka on a small scale during the last few Test series. Now, the selectors and management think that adopting young guns in the squad is the way to go for success in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 and ODI World Cup 2023.

Seniors To Lose Place In White-Ball Team

According to the report, the new selection process will likely lead to seniors like Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Thisara Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Lahiru Thirimanne losing their places in the white-ball side. However, Thisara Perera might be retained in the T20I squad for the T20I World Cup 2021 in October-November this year but Mathews and Chandimal will lose their spots in both formats.

Management feels that younger players like Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ashen Bandara, and Pathum Nissanka have proved their ability to score runs and are the future of Sri Lanka cricket.

Kusal Perera is seen as a leader:

Moreover, Kusal Perera might be nominated as the new ODI skipper and replace Dimuth Karunaratne. Kusal Mendis is likely to be appointed as the new vice-captain for Sri Lanka in ODIs. Dasun Shanaka will retain the T20I captainship at least till the end of the T20 World Cup 2021.

Notably, Sri Lanka had to go through a qualification round for ICC T20I World Cup 2021. This came as a big embarrassment for the team which has won the T20I World Cup in 2014.

Also, Sri Lanka is currently ranked 8th in ODIs and 9th in T20 internationals, which are the lowest ranks the team has dropped to. Sri Lanka Cricket has recently appointed a five-member new selection panel. The board has also appointed a panel of cricketers to revamp the entire cricketing structure.