By Leonard Ratnayake
Having taken up Sri Lanka’s most criticized and difficult job in hand few months ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup, former pace man Asantha de Mel, who is also bestowed as the Team Manager for the Sri Lankan Cricketers for the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament says that his team is ready to be a force a reckon with at the highest tournament of the sport.
Sri Lanka will take on New Zealand at Cardiff in Wales on Saturday, 01st of June coming in as underdogs for the first time after the World Cup success in 1996.
Appointed as the chairman of national selection committee six months ago, De Mel, who is no stranger to the job had revolutionized the composition of the national team and brought in the most surprised and daring move of appointing Dimuth Karunaratna as captain for the World Cup with the latter had played his last ODI match in the previous world cup four years ago.
“Dimuth was the best choice we had to gel the team together. Sri Lankan cricketers do not lack talent, they need to find their form and the right spirit for winning matches” said de Mel ahead of the World Cup.
Due to a longstanding bad run in the ODIs in the last few years, Sri Lankans are branded as the underdogs first time after being crowned as World Champions in 1996. “We have no pressure coming into this tournament, all what I said the players was to go out and enjoy your game of cricket and make sure that you do your best and the result is irrelevant” revealed the team manager.
He said that the Sri Lankan cricketers are determined to do their best in this world cup in order to give their ardent fans of a cricket loving nation a healing effect to recover from the recent turmoil and hardships. “the game of cricket has always united the whole of Sri Lanka and we hope that a victory would definitely be a positive effect for a healing nation at this moment of difficulty” added De Mel.
He is hopeful that the two experienced duos Malinga and Mathews would do their best in their respective departments to make the difference among the rest of the team to rally them around towards success. “We have a good team, a blend of youth and experience, it is time that we click together as a team” said the Manager, who recalled a his memories of 1983 World Cup saying that it was a special feeling to participate in a cricket world cup tournament in England than any other country.
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