By Ranjika Perera
The Sri Lanka Under-19 cricket team have landed in the Caribbean after a 30-hour journey and currently in quarantine. The team missed out on the Asia Cup after falling short against the strong India side in the final. But, out of the 14 games played in the build up to the World Cup, the young boys have managed to win eleven which would give them enough confidence to challenge any team.
“We expect Sadeesh to recover within a week”
Speaking at the pre tour press conference held via Microsoft Teams, Head Coach Avishka Gunawardene gave an update on Sadeesh Jayawardane’s injury. He said, “We thought normally the dislocated arm would take six to seven weeks to recover. But things turned out better and Sadeesh have now removed the bandage. He has already begun physiotherapy and we are hoping he could return to training within a week. Our first game is on the 14th so I hope he will be ready by then.”
“We don’t know much about Australia”
Responding to The Morning Sports question regarding the knowledge of other teams, Gunawardene added, “We actually have very less knowledge about Australia. They only played a domestic tournament to select the squad. So we have little knowledge about their team. We have some information about the West Indies because they played against England and now they are playing against South Africa. Even though it is tough to find footage we have some idea of those teams apart from Australia.”
“Wellalage is a matured Captain.”
The Head Coach was full of praise for skipper Dunith Wellalage. “He is a matured player. He handles the team really well. Not only in the field but off the field as well. He keeps the team together and he is a very confident player. In the semi-finals when we were up against Pakistan who had the best bowling attack. We got a green top in Abu Dhabi. But the team came up to me and said we will bat first. That shows a lot of character.”
“I expect the batters to do a better job.”
When asked about the weakness in the side during the Asia Cup, Gunawardene said, “You can’t say that we have performed badly in the recent games. Just because we lost the final. We started in flat tracks in Sharjah and was asked to play in green tops at Abu Dhabi in the knockouts. If there is room for improvement I believe it is in the batting department.”
Sri Lanka U-19 will play two practice game against Namibia and Ireland on the 10 and 12 of January at the Guyana National Stadium.