ICC World Cup 2011: Aravinda de Silva targets Sri Lankan win!
Aravinda de Silva, the former Sri Lankan captain has been named as the chairman of a new four-member national selection committee by sports minister Chandrasiri Bandara Ratnayake on Wednesday. The other three members of the committee include Ranjith Fernando, Amal Silva and Shabbir Asgerally. All four members have served as selectors in previous committees.
De Silva, the new chairman of selectors while talking to the reporters in Colombo said, “My primary aim is to make the Sri Lankan team win another World Cup, so that the Sri Lankan people have something to talk about.”
De Silva believed that he has to show a lot of commitment towards winning the World Cup in 2011 which was his "primary responsibility". The 2010 Cricket World Cup will be hosted by three south Asian countries that include India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The matches are scheduled to take place during the month of February which will go up till March. Altogether, there will be fourteen cricket teams participating in the upcoming World Cup which is sure to bring a number of thrilling matches in its way.
During his career, De Silva was one of the best entertainers in the game. His record is unrivalled among his own countrymen. The record which brought him a number of laurels in history was the match-winning century he made in the 1996 World Cup final against Australia in Lahore, Pakistan. Till date, that was the only World Cup won by the Sri Lanka cricket team.
The selectors of the committee play a vital role in improving the performance of the team. They are the ones who will select who will form the squad in the upcoming tournaments which is why a lot of responsibility has been handed to them by the board. And most importantly, they decide the positions, the team combinations as well as the performance and fitness of the players. Though, the selectors are expected to bring on to the screen the right combination for the game, there is a huge part that the team has to play. De Silva said that a significant combination is expected in the near future which will have the ability to defend the title. While setting up the criteria for the players, Silva said, "A player must have the experience of having played in at least a minimum of 50 ODI’s to be able to handle difficult situations when it comes to a World Cup".
In addition to this, he said, "We have got only nine months and to give a new player that amount of exposure is not adequate. We need to have some players with a mixture of experience and youth who can handle difficult situations. That's our plan going forward to build up that combination.”
He encouraged the current Sri Lankan team by saying that "For me this bunch of cricketers has the talent and ability, we just need to put a few things right and win some major tournaments. For this the players have to show their part and commitment”.
Undoubtedly, the opening batsmen play the most important role in the making of an innings by the team. While speaking about the improvements that Sri Lanka needs to make, De Silva referred the top order batting order as the real problem. He said that if the two openers fail to make a good score, then someone in the middle order needs to take responsibility to consolidate the innings. In such a situation, if the team is not able to find a suitable option for the middle order, then Sri Lanka is not well prepared.
When it comes to the old and most senior players, according to some people it is more logical if they do not play after a certain time. Instead, the Young Blood should be utilized as much as possible. Due to this reason, there had been a plenty of criticism surrounding Sanath Jayasuriya’s performances in the recent past. Even though Aravinda is considered to be a star who has won a number of matches for Sri Lanka, he still has to face a lot of opposition. But defying this theory against the senior players, De Silva said that Sri Lanka has to consider all options for the World Cup in 2011. He also said that the board knows what Jayasuriya is capable of doing. There are still nine months to prepare for the World Cup and it has not been decided yet on who will play and who will be discarded.
According to the press, Sri Lanka’s planning for the upcoming world cup in 2011 is perfect. Only time will tell whether the Sri Lankan nation and the fans around the world see their team lift the World Cup once again under the supervision of these great selectors.
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