By Jawad Hussain
KARACHI, September 24, 2018 (News925.com) – The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) decided on Sunday to replace the ODI captain Angelo Mathews after a dismal performance in the 2018 Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Middle-order batsman Dinesh Chandimal has replaced the all-rounder as the new skipper of the Sri Lankan ODI team.
Angelo Mathews was appointed the Sri Lankan ODI captain 10 months ago, but his inability to produce results in the ongoing 2018 Asia Cup attracted public ire and increased criticism in the local media. In the recent days, the pressure was mounted on the Sri Lankan cricket authorities to think out of the box and hand over the reins of captaincy to someone else.
Sri Lanka never looked like a big team in the 2018 Asia Cup as they were defeated by both Bangladesh and Afghanistan during the first round. Sri Lanka failed to qualify in to the Super Four round of the tournament after failing to win any of its first round matches.
While Sri Lankans are struggling in the limited overs cricket, their performance in the Test arenas under Dinesh Chandimal has improved considerably since October last year. However, his record in ODIs is not that great of-late. The appointment hints at a lack of leadership in Sri Lanka as the cricket authorities are sweating over the chances of their team in the next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in England in June. Since the start of 2017, Sri Lanka have lost 30 out of their 40 completed One Day Internationals. Due to the poor performance, the Sri Lankan cricket has experimented with a number of cricketers in the leadership role, including Lasith Malinga, Upul Tharanga, Thisara Perera, and Chamara Kapugedara.
It would be interesting how Dinesh Chandimal molds his game and inspires his side to put them on the track to victories in the limited overs cricket.
