Happier Days? Sanath Jayasuriya in conversation with Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene
© AFP
Sri Lanka cricket is in turmoil. The pounding at the hands of a young Team India at Eden Gardens on Thursday has sent Sri Lankan cricket in tailspin with three former cricketers - Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya - involved in a war of words, clearly exposing that they are not on the same page. (Highlights)
After Sri Lanka lost their third straight ODI against India in Hyderabad on November 9, Sangakkara was among four cricketers who were sent back. Sangakkara, initially reluctant to play the hurriedly arranged five-match series after West Indies pulled out of the India series, was clearly out of form. Media reports now suggest that the former captain, who on Monday was named on the ICC Test Team of the Year, was unhappy to be 'axed' from the squad. (Rohit Sharma creates history)
ESPNCricinfo quotes Sangakkara saying: "Nobody likes to leave a series in the middle, especially when losing". Sangakkara has been Sri Lanka's crisis man for years and the left-handed opener could have played his part as the Lankans played for pride in the fourth ODI at Eden but failed miserably.
Lanka's chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, once teammates with Sangakkara and Jayawardene, is not amused at Sangakkara's comments. "Those are decisions that the national selectors should take, not the players," Jayasuriya said. "If the players are going to do our job, what is the point of having selectors there at all?"
"I had a one-to-one chat with Sanga and he did not protest the decision at all. Selectors had already decided when they named the squad for the India tour to rest Sanga and Dhammika Prasad for the last two ODIs," Jayasuriya said. The former explosive batsman and captain has had similar run-ins with Sangakkara and Jayawardene before.
Jayasuriya is also upset that Jayawardene had told the media he wanted to open the batting and spoke about team plans. For several months now, there is a debate around Jayawardene's batting position. Jayasuriya wants Jayawardene to bat in the middle-order. To discuss team plans in the media has upset the chief selector.
"This is setting a dangerous precedent. What they have told media are things that we had discussed at a meeting. They were just basic ideas only. Nothing was final. When they go and tell the media as if it were all their plans, it puts us in an embarrassing situation," said Jayasuriya.
Just months before the ICC World Cup, there is trouble in Sri Lanka camp. The rout in India has only aggravated the ill feelings among the senior players and the selectors.
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