Dasun Shanaka To Lead Sri Lanka In ICC World Cup 2023: Report

Under-fire Dasun Shanaka is reportedly set to lead Sri Lanka in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023. In the wake of Sri Lanka’s humiliating defeat in the final of the Asia Cup 2023 last Sunday, reports suggested that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are likely to sack the underperforming captain.

Sri Lanka entered the final after registering a thrilling win over Pakistan. Prior to that, they had lost by 41 runs against India while chasing a modest total of 213 runs. The condition and the momentum had put Sri Lanka in a solid position for the final against India.

However, the home side came up with one of their worst performances in ODI history as India bowled them out for a paltry total of 50 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. In reply, the Men in Blue chased down the modest total in just 6.1 overs.

And while Sri Lanka did receive praise from several quarters for exceeding all the expectations and making it to the final, Dasun Shanaka faced the heat for his poor performance with the bat. Since the beginning of last year, he has managed to score only 489 runs in 33 matches at an average of less than 20. 210 of those 489 runs came in just two games as he continues to struggle in the ODI format.

Dasun Shanaka to lead Sri Lanka in ICC World Cup 2023:

His performance in the Asia Cup 2023 especially in the latter stage of the competition was disastrous. Dasun Shanaka’s scores in the continental championship read – 14*, 5, 24, 9, 2, 0. A lot was expected from him in the final when he walked out to bat in a tough situation. However, the Sri Lanka captain departed without opening his account.

Following the string of poor performances, there were reports that Sri Lanka Cricket might appoint a new captain for the World Cup. Sri Lanka are yet to announce their squad for the marquee event and many believed that one of the reason was to finalise a replacement for the captain. But according to Sri Lankan news outlet NewsWire, Dasun Shanaka will be leading the team in the marquee event.

“Dasun Shanaka will be captaining the Sri Lanka squad for the Cricket World Cup 2023. A senior SLC official told NewsWire that the selectors have decided to continue with Dasun Shanaka until the Cricket World Cup,” stated the report from the news outlet.

Earlier in the day, former Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga had thrown his support behind Dasun Shanaka. He highlighted that the batsman took charge of the team in a difficult situation and has done well as a captain so far.

“Dasun Shanaka took on the responsibility of captaining the Sri Lanka?? cricket team during a difficult period for the players and fans, managing to bring stability and respectability to the national side with his calm and collected approach.

“With an impressive captaincy record, including the Asia Cup and a record ODI winning streak under his belt regardless of the opposition, everyone, including myself, expected him to be the captain of SL for the CWC 2023.

“Having a new captain going into such an important tournament definitely won’t help the team. I hope the stakeholders take all of this into consideration before making a decision,” said Malinga.

Sri Lanka will open their campaign in the World Cup on October 7 by taking on South Africa in Delhi.