Why Your Team Sucks: Sri Lanka at the ICC World Cup 2023
To make it to an elite tournament such as this with just 10 nations participating must mean your team is quite special, right? Newsflash: the āWorldā Cup is a misnomer, ICC is cricketās ruling body just for nameās sake, ODI cricket is on its deathbed, and your team Sri Lanka sucks.
Oh beautiful Sri Lanka, the pearl of the Indian Ocean. The island nation with a beautiful nickname, āTeardrop of Indiaā, which incidentally aptly describes the relative cricket prowess of the two nations at present.
The last time the side had come to India for an ODI World Cup, they almost went all the way before stumbling at the final hurdle. 12 years on, they barely made it after having to play in the qualifiers in Zimbabwe to secure their spot. Their fall from grace has been even quicker than the loss of active users for Instagram Threads but just as embarrassing and irrelevant.
Speaking of Instagram, their marquee all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga holds quite some sway on social media with his charisma and swagger. Unfortunately, thatāll be the only place heāll be starring this winter after getting injured in the Lanka Premier League. Of course, it made perfect sense to organize the tournament a month before the World Cup and have all your key players going full throttle in it ā the Sri Lankans have learned well from their Asian counterparts Pakistan.
Hasaranga is not the only bowler whoāll be missing the event for the Lions with an injury. Their two premium quicks Dushmanth Chameera and Lahiru Madushanka are on the sidelines as well, as was Maheesh Theekshana the last time they played an ODI. By the end of the tournament, the list seems bound to get as long as their list of captains since 2011 (seven, in case you were wondering).
The silver lining is that it has paved the way for Matheesha Pathirana. SLC has invested heavily in the youngsterās development and meticulously built him up in time for the World Cup ā just kidding, it was all Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoniās doing. Nevertheless, the pacerās unusual action should come as a surprise to the opposition at the tournament ā kidding again. After the IPL, CPL and LPL, he is as much of a mystery as Sri Lanka have chances of winning ODIs against the contenders.
Another young talent who has had a huge upshot in reputation recently is Dunith Wellalage. He almost helped his side to victory single-handedly against India in the Asia Cup with five wickets and an unbeaten 42. There is just a slight issue. He has 18 runs and two wickets at an economy of 6.11 in four games since ā boy can those Indian batters make any spinner look good.
No player has as poor a form in the entire squad though as their skipper Dasun Shanaka. Apparently, the selectors had failed to realize that when the scouts said Shanaka was an explosive batter, they meant he had a tendency to implode randomly. The good news is the veteran does not let the big occasions get to him ā he fails in them just the same as the more insignificant occasions.
The only player whom Sri Lanka can hope to rely on heading into the tournament is Maheesh Theekshana. It definitely wonāt be easy for him in India but if a player can overcome the hurdles placed by SLC to become world-class, Iād imagine there is little he cannot achieve. Besides, he has already made a name for himself in the country courtesy of the IPL ā itād be helpful for the crowds though if he had āthat spinner in CSKā written on the back of his jersey.
All said and done though, donāt be surprised if you donāt hear much about Sri Lankaās failures in the coming weeks. Not because theyāll punch above their weight but because by the time the crowd start arriving at the stadiums in India, the game would most likely already be over.