Amids speculations of wholesale changes in the national team structure following the lacklustre world cup campaign, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) has decided to continue with Chief selector Asantha De Mel, Cricket Age reliably learns. However, there are one or two changes likely in the four members selection committee in order to bring fresh thinking in the setup.
Sri Lanka won three, lost four matches at the World Cup, with two abandoned due to rain.
However, despite poor showing in the mega event, the SLC seems quite impressed with the contribution of Asantha De Mel is moving forward Sri Lanka cricket. After taking over from Graeme Labrooy in December last year, Asantha led selection committee took some bold and courageous decisions regarding the selection. They brought back young Avishka Fernando into the national team just few months before the World Cup. That Avishka Fernando has become overnight sensation worldwide after his heroics in the world cup. He smashed world’s best fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer to all the corners and hammered a scintillating hundred against West Indies.
Not only Avishka, the faith Asantha led selection committee showed in discarded senior players like Lasith Malinga, Kusal Perera and Angelo Mathews (all they were not in the scheme of things of Hathurusingha) paid rich dividends during the World Cup, where all three proved their worth with some sparkling performances. Also, it was Asantha and Co, Who backed Dimuth Karunaratne as captain for the mega event, despite Hathurusingha was almost certain that his favorite Dinesh Chandimal would lead the team.
“Even though team couldn’t perform well in the World Cup, Asantha De Mel led selection committee has performed exceedingly well in last eight months. That’s the reason, we have decided to continue with him in this very important period of restructuring our cricket” a senior SLC administrator told Cricket Age.
However, one or two selectors will be changed in the five members committee, that comprise of Asantha De Mel, Chaminda Mendis, Brendon Kurruppu, Hemantha Wickramaratne.
“Most likely Brendon will be out. There is another one who will be ousted, but we are still not decided on him” the SLC senior administrator added further.
Sri Lanka’s next assignment is a three match ODI series against Bangladesh, starting later this month.
