• SL eyes historic series success on Caribbean soil 

National Cricket Selection Committee Chairman Pramodya Wickramasinghe says it is “high time for Sri Lanka to return to winning ways” as they gear up for their first multi-format tour of the West Indies in five years early next month.

During the series, which is scheduled to get underway on 3 June, the tourists will be seeking their maiden series triumphs across Tests, ODIs, and T20Is on Caribbean soil.

Wickramasinghe, speaking to The Sunday Morning Sports, said that not having recorded a single series win in the West Indies to date across all formats was in itself a “challenge and motivation” for the players to put the record straight.

“We (Sri Lanka) have still not tasted success in a bilateral series in all three formats on West Indies soil,” the former pacer said.

“However, we are sending a very experienced squad to face the West Indies this time around, and I am optimistic that the boys will be able to address that shortcoming in the record books.”

The 1996 World Cup winner, who is currently on his second stint as head of the national selection panel, stated that the signing up of former South Africa opening batter Gary Kirsten on a two-year contract as the national Head Coach would also be a boost for Sri Lanka ahead of the looming series.

“Gary has fitted into the system seamlessly and the boys are responding to his methods well,” Wickramasinghe noted. 

“In that sense, it bodes well for Sri Lanka that a proven world-class coach of that calibre is there to guide the players. It is now time for the boys to get back to winning ways, and we are going there with the mindset to win every single game we play. It will not be plain sailing, as it is away from home, but at the same time, I believe the experience factor will tilt the scales in our favour,” he added. 

Thus far, Sri Lanka have played five Test series in the West Indies since 1997 for a record of 11 Tests, with the home team winning five, losing two, and drawing the rest, while one of those wins registered by Sri Lanka during the 2018 tour remains historic.

Their four-wicket win in the third Test at Kensington Oval, Barbados under now-retired fast bowler Suranga Lakmal was also the first time an Asian team had ever won a Test at the venue. 

However, Sri Lanka’s white-ball record also needs improvements, with their One-Day International record being no better as per the history books.

Since 2003, the island nation has played three ODI series in the Caribbean, losing all of them for an overall record of eight matches, seven losses, and a solitary victory, which arrived in the inaugural series 23 years ago.

In the game’s shortest format, the visitors have so far played only a sole bilateral series in 2021, when they lost a three-game series 2-1. Faced with a dismal overall record, the onus will be on Sri Lanka to break through for their maiden series success across the respective formats.

Pressed for his take on the reported move to entrust the reins of the white-ball teams to top-order batter Kusal Mendis, Wickramasinghe opined that the free-scoring right-hander fit the bill as far as the team’s foreseeable future assignments were concerned.

He added that they had also considered the likes of Kamindu Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, and Dunith Wellalage for the captaincy, but asserted that in the final analysis Kusal Mendis had ticked the right boxes ahead of the other candidates.

He further said that batter Dhananjaya de Silva would continue to be retained as the skipper of the national red-ball team.

Wickramasinghe said that the finalised Sri Lanka squads for the West Indies tour would be released to the press by next week upon being ratified by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage.

Box

West Indies vs. Sri Lanka

• 3 June: 1st ODI at Sabina Park
• 6 June: 2nd ODI at Sabina Park
• 8 June: 3rd ODI at Sabina Park
• 11 June: 1st T20I at Sabina Park
• 13 June: 2nd T20I at Sabina Park
• 14 June: 3rd T20I at Sabina Park
• 18–21 June: Warm-up match in Coolidge
• 25–29 June: 1st Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
• 3–7 July: 2nd Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium