Since winning the Asia Cup last year, things have gone downhill for the Sri Lankans.
Sri Lankan cricket will undergo a massive overhaul in the near future, with a major shake-up in the selection committee. Pramodya Wickramasinghe, the chairman of the selection committee, is likely to be fired following an abject white-ball tour of India earlier this month.
It wasn’t long ago that the Lankan Lions roared on the international stage, defeating Pakistan to win the Asia Cup in Dubai last September. However, things have deteriorated since then, with the Islanders underperforming in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
While a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign raised concerns about the players’ consistency, the recently concluded white-ball tour of neighbouring India compounded their woes. The Indians’ ODI whitewash raised alarm bells in the Sri Lankan camp, but Pramodya Wickramasinghe has retaliated with the team’s accomplishments since his arrival.
“We currently sit third in the ICC Test Championship points table. The Asia Cup was the country’s first major title in eight years, and it earned direct qualification to the T20 World Cup in 2024. We won the ODI series against Australia. Aren’t these the outcomes of our efforts over the last 18 months?” Wickramasinghe defended himself earlier this month in an interview with the Sri Lankan newspaper the Sunday Times.
The National Sports Selection Committee (NSSC), a seven-member committee led by Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, will make the final decision on the selection committee. The body was tasked with providing final approval for sports selection in the country. The NSSC will make the final decision at its meeting on Monday, January 30.
