SLC seeks answer to Chamara Kapugedera’s move against team plan
Sri Lanka Cricket has decided to question Chamara Kapugedera for his shocking decision to bat first after winning the toss in the 3rd ODI, which was contrary to what the team had planned before the game. The middle order batsman has been ruled out of the remaining series owing to a back injury.
Chamara Kapugedera was the stand in captain for the suspended Upul Tharanga in the 3 ODI, where a win was quintessential to keep the series alive and given the side’s strength at the moment, it was decided in the team meeting that the Lankans would bowl first if they won the toss.
India had won the toss five times in a row prior to that, dominating the hosts completely in the Test and ODI format. The conditions in the third ODI was tremendously helpful for the seam bowlers and a Sri Lankan support staff member told Cricbuzz that the bowlers had already started dressing up when Kapugedera won the toss.
However, the skipper chose to bat first to everyone’s surprise and the Lankan batsmen could only score 217 runs in 50 overs. Sri Lanka has been asked to bat first in the first two ODIs, where they suffered heavy defeats, and the result wasn’t any different this time with India cruising to six-wicket victory and sealing the series.
Sri Lanka’s nightmarish run in the series has already created chaos among the fans and the last defeat even saw the crowd hurling objects onto the ground. While a member of the staff has stated the incident as a probable ‘brain fade’ on Kapugedera’s part, an SLC official told Cricbuzz on Tuesday that the board will probe the incident.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s injury list further prolonged as Kapugedera was declared unfit to pay the remaining two games after aggravating his back injury in the last match. The Lankans are already missing Asela Gunaratne with a shoulder injury and Dinesh Chandimal with a fractured thumb.
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