Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Sri Lankan Squad for T20 World Cup 2010

Sri Lanka is one of the South Asian teams that have strong possibility to win the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 champions trophy. Last year, they were the runners-up team. This year, they will try their best to fulfill their dream. Ahead of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010, Sri Lankan selectors announced a strong 15 men squad. Here is the squad:

Sri Lanka Squad for Twenty20 World Cup 2010: Kumar Sangakara (Captain & WK), Sanath Jayasurya, Tillakaratane Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Mahela Jayawardne, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Muthiah Muralitharan, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Chanaka Welegedera.

It is expected that Sri Lanka will perform well in the third edition of the Twenty20 World Cup. In the second edition, they were the best performer and remained undefeated until Pakistan won the trophy. Pakistan beat them in the final match. May be, the forthcoming tournament will give them an opportunity to win the trophy for the first time.

The ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 will be played in West Indies. It is said that the condition of West Indies pitches favor Sri Lankan style of playing. They moved up to the final round in 2007 world cup which took place in the West Indies too. Perhaps they can win the trophy this time.

Sri Lanka has one of the strongest and experienced squads in this tournament. Most of their players have experience in playing international matches. No doubt, other teams will have a tough time playing against them.

Sri Lankan squad is full of older players. That is why, it is called an ageing squad. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and tillakaratane Dilshan have already crossed 30. Vice-captain, Muralitharan, and Sanath Jayasuryisa are in their 40s. They are experienced players and all of them have great contribution behind the success of Sri Lanka team. A lot will depend on their performance. Their experience will be a major advantage for the team. However, their fitness and ground fielding have been questioned.

Sri Lanka is the balanced team in both batting and bowling. They are also good in ground fielding. Their team combination in Twenty20 World Cup 2010 will put the opposite team under huge pressure. Kumar Sangakkara will lead the team this year. He is a left handed batsman and the only wicketkeeper in the Sri Lankan squad. It seems to me very interesting because selectors did not select extra wicketkeeper for injury option. Who will keep the wicket for Sri Lanka team if Kumar Sangakkara gets injured?

Mahela Jayawardene is another important player in the Sri Lankan squad. He has been playing cricket for a long time. He will be an effective player with his experience. Sanath Jayasuriya has been included luckily despite his poor performance in recent times. He is the oldest player and is not performing very well. However, selectors hope that he will get back his form.

Tillakaratane Dilshan is a hard hitter opening batsman. He is known for his aggressive batting style. May be, he will continue his work this time also. Opposite bowlers will try hard to take his wicket as early as possible. If he stays longer in the field then match result will turn in favor of Sri Lanka team. He was awarded player of the series in the second edition of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup and he also scored the in the series. I hope that he will catch the media attention again with his performance.

Twenty-year-old Dinesh Chandimal is the only new face in the squad. He is a right handed batsman. However, there is a strong possibility that he would not be included in the main squad. Chinthika Jayasinge is not new face but he has not played many games for the Sri Lankan team. Chamara Kapugedera is an effective middle order batsman.

Sri Lankan cricket team will heavily depend on two allrounders- Angelo Mathews and Thissara Perera. Angelo Mathews is a good all rounder. He is a regular member in Kolkata Knight Riders. I think that he will play an important role in the upcoming tournament. Thissara Perera is not a bad performer in T20 format.

Sri Lankan selectors will have to face a big problem when it comes to select bowlers in the main squad. Sri Lanka has a lot of quality bowlers. Lasith Malinga is one of them. He will lead the bowling line up. Chanaka Welegedara will make his T20 debut with this tournament. He has not yet played any T20 match. Nuwan Kulasekara is the third fast bowler. Selectors will have to select any two among three.

Sri Lankan cricket team also has three spinners. Muthiah Muralitharan and Suraj Randiv are two off spinners. Ajantha Mendis is another spinner in the team. However, three of them will not be used in any match. May be, selectors will select one or two spinners. If players are selected based on their performances, then Ajantha Mendis has the highest possibility to be selection.

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