Nothing is going right in Sri Lankan cricket at the moment. From suffering a leadership crisis to administrative mess, Lankan cricket has seen it all and the island nation enters the World Cup 2019 as the weakest team, undeniably.
From winning the World Cup in 1996 to finishing runner-up twice Sri Lanka has an impressive record in the World Cup, however the team’s performance has dwindled in the last few years and now it struggles to give a good performance in the world stage.
The team has changed 9 captains ever since the last World Cup and will now be led by Dimuth Karunaratne, who last played an ODI in 2015. Sri Lanka is also yet to win an ODI this year so far and led by an inexperienced captain, the team will be low on confidence going into the marquee event.
The selectors have left out former skipper Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella from the squad and as a result of which batting looks even more lacklustre. They need batters like Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne and Kusal Mendis to score big.
However, in the fast bowling department there is Lasith Malinga, who has had a good IPL helping Mumbai Indians lift the trophy. Playing in his last World Cup, Malinga will look to finish on a high, spearheading the young side.
Apart from Malinga, they have Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep and Isuru Udana, which makes it a good attack. Their spinners however are a big let down with players like leg spinners Jefferey Vandersay and Jeevan Mendis and left arm spinner Milinda Siriwardana, who are all on a comeback trail. Another experienced player in the squad is Angelo Mathews who returns
after battling an injury and if he remains fit he will have to play a vital role in the side with both bat and ball.
The Karunaratne led side lacks experience and one has to wait and watch whether they can give a tough fight against other formidable sides to stand any chance of reaching the last four.