Sri Lanka reveals probable T20 World Cup squad selection plan: Sri Lankan cricket chief selector Upul Tharanga has revealed that Sri Lanka will prioritize experience over youth when deciding who will represent the team in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The 2014 T20 World Cup champions were recently dealt a blow when they recalled veteran wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella for the ongoing T20 series with Bangladesh and Tharanga hinted that his performance in 20-over matches in the USA and the Caribbean this year at first would be ideal in June.
According to Tharanga this means left-arm spinner Dunith Velazquez and fellow youngsters Vijayakanth Vyaskanth and Shevon Daniels will have to bide their time and wait for further opportunities at the top level.
“In T20s we need a wicket-taking option, which is why we opted for Jeffrey (Vandersay) over someone like Dunith (Wellalage),” Tharanga said. “We felt that Jeffrey was more of an attacking bowler in T20s.
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“We had a big discussion regarding Viyaskanth and Jeffrey, and there were differing opinions within the selection committee. But in the end, we went with Jeffrey because the (T20) World Cup is coming up soon and there was a question over whether Viyaskanth could suddenly be brought in to play in a (T20) World Cup. So that’s why we went with Jeffrey and his experience.
“We were looking for someone to play in the top-order (following injuries to Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Perera). We looked at Shevon Daniel, Lasith Croospulle and Dikka (Dickwella), but the first two are still quite young. It was difficult to pick them based purely on their most recent performances.”
Tharanga singled out Daniel as a player he expects to shine for Sri Lanka in the future but said the time would come for the teenager to show his qualities and in the two white-ball matches he played for his country Involve them.
“They’re very talented cricketers, someone like Shevon can play for 10 to 15 years for Sri Lanka,” Tharanga noted.
“A player like that, do we drop him into a difficult situation? Or do we hold him back and let him play in the NSL (Sri Lanka domestic competition), give him experience and then bring him into the side?
“We spoke to the captain, as well as the coach, and they also felt Niroshan Dickwella was the best option at this time because heading into a T20 World Cup, his experience will be useful.”
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