Two former Sri Lanka players – Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan who themselves are the members of the advisory committee of past cricketers led by Aravinda De Silva, have been turned critics instead of taking responsibility, as they both have publicly expressed their opinion on Sri Lanka’s recent performance against mighty England.
Sri Lanka’s national team has caused an outrage in the cricket fraternity with their poor performance in recently concluded T20 series against England, where the team was whitewashed 3-0.
The first T20 International of the three-match series at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff saw Sri Lanka collapsing at the score of 129 for seven in their 20 overs. The second T20 International also witnessed the same fate as the first match as there was another collapse of Sri Lanka’s batting line-up. The visitors gave England a mere target of 111 runs and the hosts easily won the game by five wickets through the DLS method. Entering the third T20 International, there wasn’t anything left as the hosts already clinched the series by 2-0. However, the fans were expecting a fightback from the Sri Lanka side.
The cricket fraternity was only met with disappointment as Sri Lanka produced another disastrous performance in the last T20 International to lose the series by 0-3. Batting first in the last T20I, England posted a massive score of 180 runs. Dawid Malan was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts as he played a stunning knock of 76 runs off 48 balls. Chasing 181, Sri Lanka collapsed like a pack of cards. The visitors were bowled out for 91 and thus lost the game by a massive 89 runs. This was Sri Lanka’s fifth consecutive series loss in the shortest format of the game. The numbers are horrifying considering the 2021 edition of the ICC T20 World Cup is just a couple of months away.
“I Watched last match, I’m disappointed to see the team play the way they played. It looks like they never played cricket before. For me it’s very sad as a former player. Its not the first time,It Has been happening for a long time, Nations pride has been tarnished” posted Murali.
Sangakkara also, during a commentary stint with Sky Sports, expressed his views regarding Sri Lanka’s dismal performance and became a laughing stock with his bizarre comment, that this is the best available team.
During the third T20I, English commentator Michael Atherton questioned Sangakkara whether the current Sri Lankan team in England is the best team Sri Lanka has got at the moment.
“I think this is the best squad,” Sangakkara said, replying to Atherton.
Another former cricketer, legendary Roshan Mahanama, who is also in the committee coincidentally, also echoed Murali’s sentiment.
“I don’t think there is a huge difference between the players from them and now… it comes down to the attitude of the players. It’s quite sad when they do not show pride in doing something for your country” wrote Mahanama.
Miffed with national team’s performance, Sri Lanka Cricket fans have now started questioning the commitment of Murali and Sangakkara for their motherland. While Mahela Jayawardene and Aravinda de Silva have taken the task in their hands to uplift the standard of the game in the country, both Murali and Sangakkara have remained spectators and disinterested. They get involved in all the leagues around the globe, but as soon as they lands at Katunayake Airport, they becomes advisors, critics, whistle blowers, instead of contributing at ground level.
