PAK vs SL | Oshada Fernando reminded me of Mahela Jayawardene, says Ashantha de Mel
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Ashantha de Mel, SLC’s Chief Selector, expressed his happiness after seeing the wonderful performances of Sri Lankan youngsters versus Pakistan. Sri Lanka shocked Pakistan in their own backyard to win the T20 series 3-0, through impressive performance from youngsters like Oshada Fernando.
Sri Lanka was mighty impressive in their T20I exploits against Pakistan, with youngsters like Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, etc. stepping up to the plate and producing match-winning performances. After seeing Oshada, the chief selector remembered Mahela. It seems like the void left by Sangakkara and Jayawardene is finally going to be filled with the young talent coming through. This has given the selector a good headache ahead of their next tour to Australia, where next year's T20 World Cup will be taking place.Â
"It's a good headache to have. Earlier we had a problem of selecting form players, now we have 12-13 players that are vying for about six places, especially in the batting department," de Mel was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.
"What I was impressed with the youngsters is that they took the opportunity they were given with both hands. Bhanuka was debuting, and Oshada was debuting as well, and they played out of their skins," he added.
de Mel praised Oshada for his composure, shot selection and was impressed with the maturity that Oshada showed at such a young age.Â
"He took no risks. He reminded me of Mahela, just placing it over extra cover, very risk-free batting," de Mel said of Oshada.
"As a chief selector, I was happy because we were able to give these guys a chance. Because sometimes what happens is we take them on the tour but we're not able to actually give them a chance," he further added.
de Mel was also impressed by the kind of bowling displays Wanindu Hasaranga came up with. The Pakistani batsmen never figured out how to play him, failing to read the varations off his hand and while they tried to read it off the pitch, it was too late. He tormented the Pakistan batsmen throughout the series.
"For me, Wanindu is the most improved player that I've seen this year. Whether it's batting, bowling, fielding, the confidence he has is now fantastic," de Mel said.
 When the Sri Lankan senior players refused to board the flight to Pakistan, de Mel had clearly warned them about the possibility of them being dropped from the future squad if the youngsters showed promise in their performance. After such an amazing performance by the juniors, de Mel will have to take some bold calls when it comes to selecting the squad for further tours.
 "When it comes to selecting the squad for Australia we will have to take these performances into consideration. Because like I told the guys who didn't go if the guys who go perform then one or two of the guys who didn't may have to get left out. Form matters," he signed off
