Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood has encouraged his team to look beyond Wanindu Hasaranga‘s two-match ban and view it as an opportunity for a young player to step up and showcase their talent ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) found Wanindu Hasaranga in breach of article 2.13 of the Code of Conduct, which pertains to ‘Personal abuse’ of a player or official. This decision came after Wanindu Hasaranga criticized umpire Lyndon Hannibal, stating that he was “not suited to international cricket,” following a decision regarding a high full-toss in Sri Lanka’s third T20I against Afghanistan.
Wanindu Hasaranga has accepted his punishment
As a result of this breach, the all-rounder received three demerit points, bringing his total to five within the past 24 months. This accumulation of demerit points resulted in a ban from the first two of the three T20Is against Bangladesh.
“Wanindu missing two matches is something that we have to deal with.. Wanindu has accepted his punishment, and all we have to do now is move on. What it does do is create an opportunity for other people within the squad to get significant game time leading into the World Cup,”
The Srilankan head coach added,
“That’s how we have to look at it because we’ve seen in a World Cup and Sri Lanka have experienced that it’s not just the eleven on the field; it’s a whole squad that takes part in the World Cup. And at any given point, they will all be called upon and so we have to make sure that everybody within that squad is ready for those games as and when they’re called upon,”
In Wanindu Hasaranga’s absence, Charith Asalanka will take over the captaincy for the first two matches. Sri Lanka has a strong spin department to choose from, including Maheesh Theekshana, Akila Dananjaya, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, and Jeffrey Vandersay.
We are Sri Lanka, we want to play like Sri Lankans- Chris Silverwood
Chris Silverwood also voiced his confidence in Sri Lanka’s recent performance and their journey leading up to the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA. He stated,
“To be fair, we’ve played some very good T20 cricket leading into this, so I expect that to continue. I expect us to continue to grow our game plans, continue to develop as a team and as players, and keep working hard towards that. And ultimately playing our own brand of cricket going into the World Cup, you know what I mean? We are Sri Lanka, we want to play like Sri Lankans, and that’s what we’re going to aim to do,”
The first Sri Lanka-Bangladesh T20I is scheduled to kick off on Monday at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Also Read: https://goworldwide.co.in/mathews-and-hasaranga-star-as-sl-win-the-series/