Sri Lanka leave with openers’ riddle

By Desmond Samith

Who is going to open the innings was still an unanswered question as Sri Lanka team left for the West Indies yesterday evening for the Twenty20 World Cup.
However, captain Kumar Sangakkara in his diplomatic voice told the media he has four good options to choose the openers from.
Sangakkara has three experienced players and a fresher to turn to. Regular openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan, and Mahela Jayawardena who recently had a good IPL tournament as an opener, can step into the berth at any time. And add to that 20-year-old Dinesh Chandimal, who broke into the squad after a good showing for the Ruhuna in the recent inter-provincial tournament.
“We’ll decide on our openers after looking at the wicket and the opposition,” Sangakkara said at Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday.
An old Anandian, Chandimal averages 31.62 in 17 first class Twenty20s and also boasts of a strike rate of 137.87. His ability to score quickly against established bowlers came into the limelight during the recent tournament.
“I like to play under pressure,” Chandimal said.
“When good bowlers operate then I think my best comes out.”
Wicket-keeper batsman Chandimal is the only uncapped player in the side.
Young players should go into Twenty20 cricket to enjoy themselves, Sangakkara contended.
“There are seniors to tackle pressure. Twenty20 cricket is time to enjoy your game, that’s what I tell the youngsters.”
Sri Lanka will open their Group ‘B’ campaign against New Zealand on April 30. Then they will meet Zimbabwe on May 3.
Sangakkara who led the team to the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in England in June last year said a team has to take any opposition seriously be it Australia or Afghanistan. A mistake or two may prove costly and a team may find it difficult to make a comeback after that, he said.
“We have some plans for New Zealand and Zimbabwe. The important thing is to get your combination (batsmen and bowlers) right. Before looking at the wickets we can’t say much,” he said.
Tillakaratne Dilshan who took the cricket world by surprise with his trademark ‘scoop’ – a flick over the keeper’s head – in the last tournament and emerged the best player, said he is ready to ‘fire’ after a poor IPL tournament where most of the time he was nursing injuries.

Sri Lanka Squad:

Kumara Sangakkara (captain), Muttiah Muralitharan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera,
Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Chanaka Welagedara, Chamara Kapugedara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chinthaka Jayasinghe
Fixtures:
April 28 warm-up v South Africa at Kensington Oval, Barbados
April 30 v New Zealand at Gyana
May 3 v Zimbabwe at Gyana