Young players should take responsibility after Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara, says Dimuth Karunaratne
Dimuth Karunaratne has said that the team is ready to give the youngsters a chance after the retirement of senior players and will be looking forward to the next generation to put up better performances next World Cup. He further discussed the team’s performance in the ongoing Bangladesh series.
After a dismal World Cup campaign that saw Sri Lanka failing to break into the top four and getting eliminated in the first stage itself, the Lions seem to be back on track. Over the course of the mega event, they had slowly regained their form in the latter stages and have carried the momentum to their bilateral series against Bangladesh.
"For the first few games of the World Cup everyone was panicking and you know, the World Cup was a huge thing, everyone was really under pressure, that's why some of the players couldn't perform well. But after a couple of games they got back on track, and they played good cricket, scored some hundreds. After that they brought that confidence here, and we can see how well the top six have performed. While the bowlers have also done a good job," skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was reported saying by Cricbuzz.
Legendary pacer Lasith Malinga has retired from international duty post the first ODI, while Nuwan Kulasekara had also announced his decision to hang up his boots in the buildup to the series. Combined, the two have 537 wickets and 300-plus ODI appearances. However, the new era, post the two giants, seemS to be promising, glimpses of which were seen in the two victories against Bangladesh.
"In the last match without Malinga, I think Nuwan , Lahiru Kumara and all the guys, they bowled really well. That's what we want, once the seniors leave the rest of the guys have to take their responsibility and do the job. I think we were on the right track, we built some confidence step by step,” Karunaratne said.
“Definitely there will be some chances for the youngsters. When the series started, I said that we needed to give young players some chances in order to get them properly prepared for the next World Cup. As such, we're going to be looking at how best to include them, while at the same time keeping in place the best combination to win the match. There won't be a lot of changes, but I expect there will be two or three," he added.
So far, the Tigers have lost the first two games by 91 runs and seven wickets respectively. Sri Lanka will be looking forward to completing the clean sweep in the third ODI on Wednesday.
"The main thing was Shakib [Al Hasan], he played a huge role. I think that's why we felt that without Shakib they may struggle a little to balance the side. I think we also lifted our game after the World Cup. We have been playing as a team, with high confidence, and I think that's why we have done so well," the captain concluded.
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