• Feels Dickwella selection down to available options and experience
• Notes Lanka face tall order to advance in the WTC table 

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Russell Arnold says that an attacking mindset which Sri Lanka seems to have cultivated against other visiting teams does not exist with India, which has resulted in them lagging behind their South Asian neighbours in the long-format.

Arnold, 52, who has emerged as a much-sought-after cricket commentator for cricketing audiences the world over, since his retirement from the game in 2007, feels the controversial selection of Niroshan Dickwella had come down to available options and experience.

In an interview with The Daily Morning, the former left-handed batter who emerged as a finisher in One-Day Internationals batting at No. 6, says that it’s up to the rookie players to put their mitts up, and to take every opportunity and make positions their own.

Arnold who won 44 Test and 180 ODI caps for Sri Lanka, during a 10-year span in international cricket from 1997-2007, opined that as things stand currently it will be tough for Sri Lanka to make serious headway in the ICC Men’s World Test Championship (WTC) table.

Following are excerpts of the interview:

The ongoing Test series between Sri Lanka and India will be critical for both sides to make further gains up the WTC table. How do you assess SL’s chances particularly in this series to move up the line?

Yes, it’s a hard series for Sri Lanka, and it's important that if they want to qualify the approach does matter. I would like to go back to the last home series they played against Bangladesh. I thought Sri Lanka should have played more attacking cricket there, which was not the case, where Sri Lanka may have dropped points. As you are referring to the India series, the first Test pitch here at Galle seems to be slightly different and turning quickly. With the amount of rain around, to push for a win from here, would be hard for Sri Lanka. Meaning they will fall further behind in their quest to qualify. 

The selection of Niroshan Dickwella has created a stir among critics, as he has been recalled after a 36-month long absence from red-ball cricket. Would you justify his recall at this late stage of his career, and do you reckon he has still more left in him to contribute to the team across all formats?

Yes, there are various different ways in which you can look at it. And of course, Sri Lanka has had quite a few issues with Niroshan Dickwella. But it also comes down to options and experience, I guess. The injuries to Pathum (Nissanka) and Kusal (Mendis), doesn’t help obviously. So, looking at the bigger picture, this is where the selectors have opted to go. It is not as though Sri Lanka has a lot of players saying this is my spot and I want to take control and I want to make a difference to the team. Hence in trying to balance the team and in trying to use whatever resources you have this is the decision that Sri Lanka Cricket have taken. When you look at being a gloveman itself, Niroshan Dickwella is a very safe option and he is one of the better ones going around. Unless of course Sri Lanka is going to make the decision that they want to bring in a lot of players, and freshen up the faces they have, and take the chance and be ready to compromise on results, you cannot do that at the moment. You are trying to put a team out there to be competitive. Dickwella at No. 7, even though he has not got a hundred, with so many innings, he does make impactful runs, and hence you are trying to put the best team possible out there, that you think will be able to compete.     

The selectors have given a few debuts in the Galle Test. How do you view blooding rookies against a strong India outfit?

I really like the fact that Sri Lanka is looking at new players, because Sri Lanka hasn’t’ got the results and we’ve been in need of a proper direction in the recent past. Hence looking at those new players. There are domestic players who have scored a lot of runs and put up their hands. But when it comes to international cricket straightaway, the fact that they are not getting those impactful performances to straightaway make a change and give the confidence that is the direction, gets really hard. When you are searching for those results, it does get very much tougher to make the calls and to give the continuity that everybody wants the players to have. Results do matter, and when you do get results, you notice that a lot of the problems strangely disappear, without you having to do anything as well. It’s a little tricky situation to be in when things have not been going your way. It's also up to the players, to put their hands up and to take every opportunity and make positions their own. We might not always agree, but as long as there is a plan or direction, I guess you need to go with it. It is what it is and how it is.   

Do you think Dhananjaya de Silva has justified being thrust into the Test captaincy, and if not why and whom do you think will be future captains for SL in this format of the game?

You’ve to understand that you have to play with the resources you have. Dhananjaya de Silva as a batter, has been very good and leading from the front. But the combinations and everyone around how they perform does play a part in it as well. Looking at some of the captains we’ve had in the very recent past, I would say he is one of the more proactive skippers and good things ahead.

SL have not tasted success over India in a series at home since 2008. What would you put down as the main reasons for such a long-standing winless series streak against them, and do you honestly feel that the current lot has it in them to put an end to that jinx at the end of the ongoing series?

The Indian team has just been pretty strong. They play spin well, and it is just that Sri Lanka likes to control games with spin and they too have quality spinners themselves. And hence playing that same attacking brand of cricket, or having that mindset that you use or have against other visiting teams does not seem to exist with India. I reckon, that is the reason why we are behind. Yes, in this series we’ve capable players and it's about getting consistent performances and reacting to situations which we really haven’t done too well. Unfortunately, at the end of the first day, we found ourselves on the backfoot and in a place where we could fight back and get a result in our favour. It’s a hard one, the situations and conditions they all give you a direction, but it's just a fact of how you look at things, and I believe that Sri Lanka can play consistently at a higher standard and a little bit hot and cold.        

SL has once more reverted to hiring a foreign coach for the national team. Is this in your opinion, the right way to go about it, and do you think that local coaches somehow cannot cut it at international level?

It all depends on what your requirement is at that particular stage, and what opinion you have. We have tried foreign coaches and we have tried local coaches. But it is just what will work for you and there is no one set rule that this is how it should be. However, when it comes to Sri Lankan coaches, I believe they are tactically strong, they are good coaches and more opportunity and trust being given, and I do see that happen in certain circumstances, but I do believe that Sri Lankan coaches also have a lot to give as well.   

How do you look at the Lanka Premier League (LPL), and do you think it has caught the imagination of the public here, despite its image being tainted with corruption allegations and constant change of franchise owners? Will this domestic T20 spectacle have a long-term future?

The fact the LPL happened with so many restrictions and challenges, I think that is a good thing. However, I also believe that we’ve a long way to go and yes, the continuity in franchises will certainly help. It will help to build trust and help to bring better players and also make it a more-smoother tournament. But in terms of the corruption allegations, I don’t think corruption has happened. Things have been nipped in the bud as far as I know of, which is a good thing isn’t it. For the tournament to happen, everyone supports it, past players, to administrators to corporate partners, that’s when it could get better. And with so many challenges in getting it going and continuing it, it’s a very difficult act. The fact that it’s happening after all, I think is commendable. But if you can get a good tournament going that would be a great platform for our cricket to develop, for our players to become better and if we could put out better cricketing products, that’s when we could become more marketable and attract sponsors, and that we would be able to do more and more things.       

What is your take on the new Selection Committee? Most of those who have been named are above 60 and only one is below that age category. When other nations are banking on recently retired players for such Committees, SL seems to be heading in the opposite direction. Do you concur or disagree with that standpoint?

Selectors are those who have a lot of experience and those who know the game, and I really don’t pay attention to the age of people. And I really don’t know how things are in other countries, and how it should be and what suits us. And you hope that all those who are put in Selection Committees, do their best and are supported as well. 

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the interviewee, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication