Michael Atherton Asks, ‘Are These The Best Players Sri Lanka Got?’; Kumar Sangakkara Answers

Former England captain Michael Atherton asked some tough questions from Sri Lanka’s latest inductee in the ICC Hall of Fame Kumar Sangakkara during the third T20I between England and Sri Lanka which was played in Cardiff.

Sangakkara was part of the ICC World Test Championship final in Southampton, where he played the role of a neutral commentator. And after completion of that Test, he moved to the England- Sri Lanka T20I series commentating duties.

In the third T20I against England in Southampton, Sri Lanka crumbled like a cookie for 91 runs, chasing 181 runs for victory, and lost the three-T20I series 0-3. This led to some uneasy questions being asked by the England commentary team to Sangakkara and Atherton led to ask him if this was the best team Sri Lanka could conjure up.

“I Think This Is The Best Squad,” Kumar Sangakkara Says

During the T20I series, Sangakkara was the only representative from his country in the Sky Sports studio and his experience couldn’t possibly be a pleasant or nice one, given the drubbing his team was getting at the hands of the England team. Sri Lanka lost the first two matches, where they scored 129 for 7 and 111 for 7 respectively.

At one point during Sri Lanka’s run chase in the third T20I, former England captain Michael Atherton asked Sangakkara if this was the best team that Sri Lanka could field.

“I think this is the best squad. There are a few others who’ve been in the mix – Chandimal, Thisara Perera, who’s now retired, Angelo Mathews, Thirimanne, and Karunaratne- who have batted beautifully in Test cricket. But then it’s also about identifying who you want to take forward on the journey to the T20 World Cup, which is the immediate target, then, of course, the 2023 World Cup,” Sangakkara said as quoted by Cricwire.

Sangakkara further said that the blame should be on the domestic structure back home, which hasn’t been up to the mark in recent times and has not produced international-level cricketers.

“The other thing is if these are the best players, why then are they playing the way they do? That can be traced back to not just them being in International cricket, but also to first-class cricket” Sangakkara added.

The first ODI of the 3-match series between England and Sri Lanka will be played on June 29 at Chester-Le-Street.

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