The touring Sri Lankan team will join New Zealand in the second match today, overcoming the indignity of having to try their luck in a qualifying tournament for the first time in the 48-year history of the ODI World Cup.
The Sri Lankan team, which has played in all the 12 One Day World Cup tournaments held since 1975 and won a trophy and two runners-up, is losing its chance to directly participate in the tournament to be held in India later this year. Only the top eight teams on the ICC Super League ODI points table will qualify directly for the World Cup. Already 7 teams have been selected. Sri Lanka, South Africa and Ireland are battling it out to make the rest of the group.
After losing the first match of this Super League series, the Sri Lankan team now has to wait for the second match and the final match today, but also the match between South Africa and the Netherlands and the match between Ireland and Bangladesh.
On the other hand, it seems that New Zealand is not at all ready to lose the remaining two matches, despite the majority of debutants due to their amazing performance in the first match. As cricket is a difficult game to predict, it is not reasonable to think that the Sri Lankan team will lose both the matches, the former Sri Lankan players are of the opinion. But the Sri Lankan team is at a disadvantage from all sides.
On the other hand, former players are wondering why the Sri Lankan cricket consultant coach Mahela Jayawardena, who earns a monthly salary of over Rs 60 lakhs, did not join the New Zealand tour. While one can argue that the cricket mentor does not need to be with the team all the time. The foreign media had reported that he was in America in the past few days, and that he had gone there for his duties in Mumbai Indians, a team owner of the international league tournament in that country. It was reported that the chief consultant of the cricket team was not with the team during the New Zealand Test loss as well as when they suffered a heavy defeat in the first one-day match.
In the meantime, sports enthusiasts are questioning whether Thilina Kandambi went to New Zealand as an additional coach with the team that went on the one-day tour to fill up Mahela's absence. Thilina Kandambi is a batting coach, and Naveed Nawaz, who had already gone to New Zealand as the team's assistant coach, is also a batting coach. Accordingly, there are two coaches for the batting. Head coach Chris Silverwood is known as a fastball coach. Meanwhile, Darshan Gamage has also joined the team as a fastball coach. Piyal Wijetunga as the Spinning Coach, Manoj Abey as the Bowling Coach are two other coaches.
But according to the poor playing style of the Sri Lankan team in the first one-day match, it is clear that the instructions given to the players by these coaches are not enough. Otherwise, one may have a problem whether all the players are waiting for the cricket consultant Mahela Jayawardene to come to New Zealand.
Former players say that if Mahela does not get time to join the New Zealand tour, he will have another chance to open the doors of the World Cup for the Sri Lankan team by joining the World Cup qualifying tournament to be held in Zimbabwe next June.
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