Sri Lankan selectors justify the omission of Kusal Mendis from India Tests

Team Sri Lanka is all set to tour India for a 3-match Test series, which will be followed by limited overs fixtures. The SLC recently announced the Sri Lankan squad for the Test series. While the fans were happy to see the likes of Angelo Mathews make a comeback, there was some shock to see the names of Asela Gunaratne and Kusal Mendis being omitted. Kusal Mendis, in particular, was expected to make a comeback in the series.

Mendis has not played any international game since August this year. As per the recent reports in Cricbuzz, the chairman of selectors, Mr. Graeme Labrooy, justified the selection of the players and the omission of the players like Kusal Mendis. Speaking specifically about Kusal Mendis, he noted that the selectors see him as a long term gem for the side. They do not want to hurry him to a comeback after an injury.

“We didn’t want to throw him to the deep end or to take him to India and leave him on the bench. Instead, what we tried to do was to let him play some domestic cricket, work on his game and regain his confidence,” Graeme Labrooy quoted.

“He is a confidence player. For him confidence is everything. He has got everything in his armoury. We don’t want a situation where he plays two more innings, gets two low scores and then drop him and destroy his confidence further. He has got age on his side and we want him to go onto become one of the greatest of the game. We want him to play for another ten years,” he added.

On Kaushal Silva

During the recently concluded Pakistan Test series, opener Kausal Silva ended up scoring less than 30 runs across the four innings of the two Tests. His dismal run saw him miss the bus for the India series. However, coach Nic Pothas had mentioned that Silva is that sort of a character which the team needs. Despite the backing of the coach, Silva was dropped. Labrooy rightly noted that runs are the only parameter for the selection.

“We share the same sentiments with Nic. But, at the end of the day, you need to put runs on the board. Character, attitude, team spirit all these things are there but we expect more from him with the bat. Sadeera is a player for the future. This is the correct time that we should bring him in. Now is the time for him to bite the bullet and take up that challenge against world’s number one ranked team. He will put pressure back on the bowlers by putting the loose balls away. (We are) very impressed with his game,” cited Labrooy.

On Asela Gunaratne

Commenting on the omission of the other big name, other than Kusal Mendis, the chief selector spoke about Asela Gunaratne. Gunaratne had injured his finger during the first Test against India at home. Labrooy noted that the lack of match practice sees Asela miss the bus. He hopes to see him back for the ODIs against the Indian team.

“Asela is fit and has been medically cleared. But then he has not played any cricket for three and half months. When you are playing the best team in the world, you need your players at their peak. If everything goes well, he will be back for the ODIs,”said Labrooy.

On Nuwan Pradeep

In the recent times, the most successful pacer for Sri Lankan team has been Nuwan Pradeep. However, Pradeep is not a part of the Test squad that will be touring India. The selector was rightly asked about this surprise exclusion. Explaining Pradeep’s case, he mentioned that the pacer has been very good but has failed to keep himself match fit for all matches in a given series. He cited that a player has to be fully fit to give his best in all the fixtures and not get injured or tired after having played just one Test on a particular tour.

“We did a study of Nuwan and the games that he has played in the last 18 months. We feel that he can not take much of the work load. He gives 100 percent all the time. His body can take only one Test match, and then he needs to put in lot more effort to play the second Test. So we thought not to stress him. He will not be considered for the Test matches against Bangladesh as well in January. We are looking at him only for ODIs for the time being,” he mentioned.