• Chief selector seeks consistency for T20 team

Cricket selectors Chairperson Upul Tharanga says the reason for appointing ex-captain Dasun Shanaka as vice-captain of the Sri Lanka white-ball teams, is for regular skipper Charith Asalanka to fall back on an experienced hand.

Speaking to The Daily Morning Sports, Tharanga whose two-year term as head of selectors due to lapse next month, dismissed claims in certain quarters that Shanaka is a spent force.

“He (Shanaka) is far from being a has-been in my view,” the former captain argued.

“We looked at a few options available, but none of them met the requirements other than Dasun. His game is suited ideally for short-format cricket and added to the experience he has, we opted to make him the deputy to Charith.”

Tharanga observed that he was unsure of whether Shanaka could be retained by a new panel, if his panel is not retained, as the deputy captain moving forward.

But, nonetheless he  maintained that the all-rounder is an important cog in the Lankan outfit.

Shanaka, 34, a native of Negombo who has won 71 caps for his country, made his ODI debut in 2016 while he has racked up 114 caps since his T20I debut 12-months prior.

The former white-ball captain was stripped of the captaincy by Tharanga’s panel in the wake of Sri Lanka’s first-round exit from the 2023 ICC Men’s 50-over World Cup in India.

It was also-a performance which also cost them a place in the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and UAE, early this year.

Shanaka who became regular skipper in 2021, led his country to 23 wins out of 41 ODIs and 22 out of 48 T20Is with the highlight of his stint being the 2022 T20 Asia Cup triumph in the UAE, where Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the final.

The chair of the selectors stated that the onus is on Sri Lanka to utilise the white-ball tour to Pakistan, to finetune their preparations for next year’s ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup to be co-hosted with India.

Charith Asalanka’s team is set to play a 3-match 1-Day International Series against Pakistan from 11-15 November in Rawalpindi.

After which both teams will be joined by Zimbabwe for a T20 Tri-Series in Rawalpindi and Lahore from 19-29 November.

According to Tharanga, the Pakistan series would likely be Sri Lanka’s penultimate short-format series ahead of the World Cup in 2026, with a home series against England in January, expected to be their last hit out before the global gathering.

He remarked that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) were involved in discussions with the PCB for a bilateral T20I series in Sri Lanka, ahead of the England tour as part of preparations for the World Cup.

However, he insisted it was yet to be finalised as it is not part of the ICC FTP for 2025-29.

Pressed for his take on Sri Lanka’s chances in the subsequent T20 Tri-Series in Pakistan, the selection chief was of the opinion that it could be a closely-fought series, as Zimbabwe cannot be written off.

“I think Zimbabwe are always capable of springing surprises, and we need to be wary of such a team. In T20 cricket things could change at the blink of an eye, and even Pakistan is strong. It promises to be an absorbing series.”

The ex-opener and left-hander stressed that preparations were currently proceeding smoothly in the runup to the upcoming tour to Pakistan, at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium (MRICS) in Hambantota.

Asked to review his past two-year tenure as head of the selection panel, Tharanga noted that the T20 format has been a concern in comparison to ODIs and Tests, with only a 45.45 success rate in the game’s shortest format.

The 40-year-old’s selection committee, also consisting of Indika de Sara, Ajantha Mendis, Tharanga Paranavithana and Dilruwan Perera, was appointed for a 2-year stint by ex-Sports Minister Harin Fernando in December 2023.

He pointed out that the challenge moving forward to the T20 squad is to seek consistency in performance both at home and away.

He emphasised that both seniors and juniors alike will need to be in peak form, if Sri Lanka is to make any headway in the sport’s showpiece event next February-March.

Tharanga though was content with how the side has fared in both One-Day Internationals and Tests since taking over the job in 2023.

During that period the South Asian team has won seven, lost six and drawn one, in 14 Test matches for a success percentage of 50.00.

Under the Tharanga-helmed selection panel In ODIs, they had won 17, lost six with two no-results in 25 fixtures, for a success percentage of 68.00 since 2023.