Cricket World Cup 2023 is just a few days away. Even now, cricket fans all over the world are eagerly crossing their fingers for the World Cup matches. The 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 5 in India and the first match in which Sri Lanka will participate is scheduled to be held on October 7. It is planned to start the tournament after a tour that will take the world champions’ trophy around the world. New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, America, West Indies, Bangladesh, the Middle East region, Malaysia, South Africa and many other countries have taken steps to take the trophy this year as well.
What happened in the Asia Cup?
Meanwhile, with the victory of the Asian Cup, India is entering the World Cup this year and Sri Lanka’s defeat in that tournament is a special occasion to join the World Cup series. It is not possible to predict that a World Cup cricket tournament can be won just by winning the Asia Cup. Highlighting that, Sri Lankan cricket captain Dasun Shanaka says that his and his team’s hope is to win the World Cup for the country, taking the Asia Cup defeat as a blessing.
“There was a lot of confidence among the Sri Lankan cricket fans that they would win the Asia Cup. We faced world challenges in cricket. However, in the last two years, we played with dedication. We were able to achieve great achievements. A huge number of people came to watch the Asia Cup as a reward for those two years of dedication.” Dasun says.
Meanwhile, Dashun Shanaka explains the facts regarding the fate of the Asian Cup final held at the Premadasa Stadium. He points out that it is advantageous to bat first at the Premadasa ground so he decided to bat first. But he pointed out that the ball started swinging unexpectedly and in that the Sri Lankan innings collapsed.
“This is an unexpected situation. The ball swings like this only on English pitches. The same thing happened unexpectedly at Premadasa ground. I have never seen such a swing in Sri Lankan pitches. We wanted to go for more points. But the target was missed.”
However, it is not appropriate to spend time talking about what happened. Now there is not a small trophy. It’s the World Cup. Skipper Dasun also admits that. West Indies are a team that has won two World Cups. However, they had to withdraw from the qualifying round this time. It is a perfect example of uncertainty in cricket.
Countries like England, South Africa, Australia, Pakistan, India and New Zealand, as well as teams like Afghanistan and Bangladesh, cannot be underestimated. England, the birthplace of cricket, which won the world cricket crown for the first time in the last tournament, enters this tournament with the intention of further protecting its crown. Hosts India and the rest of the teams will enter the match with high hopes of claiming the crown.
The challenges facing Sri Lanka in the World Cup
After the defeat in the Asian Cup, the Sri Lankan team going to the World Cup has lost some strong trump cards. Vanidu Hasaranga, Mahish Theekshana and Dushmantha Chamira are included among them. According to cricket reports, they may miss the World Cup due to various injuries.
Wanidu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chamira who suffered injuries have not fully recovered yet. Although Dushmantha Chamira’s injury has recovered to a considerable extent, it is doubtful whether he will be able to bowl. Doctors have recommended that Vanidu Hasaranga should be out of action for another 4-6 weeks. Sri Lanka’s main bowler Mahish Thiekshana also suffered an injury during the Asia Cup, and it is believed that he will not have any problem joining the World Cup. Although fast bowlers Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madusankata missed the Asia Cup due to injuries, both of them are ready for the World Cup, the Sri Lanka Cricket Medical Committee has said.
Captain Dashun Shanaka commented on the bowlers and batsmen.
“Every team has good bowlers. So is our team. Dunit Vellalage, Mahish Theekshana are a big strength for us. And Indian pitches are often more suitable for batsmen. So our batting line-up is very strong. We are going to the World Cup with good confidence. said.
We are making a breakthrough.
Despite being more successful as a captain, Dasun is constantly accused of failing as a batsman. In response, Dasun said, “I am training well. To be consistent with the bat. And we are ready to make a breakthrough in the World Cup. We hope to make this breakthrough in order to win the World Cup.”
A sight to behold
Dasun is an exceptional cricket captain. For the tour of Pakistan in 2019, Dasun Shanaka took over the responsibility of captaining the Sri Lankan team for the first time. Sri Lanka managed to win the first match against Pakistan by 64 runs, and the Sri Lankan team also managed to win the entire tournament 3-0. To Pakistan as a captain for the first time
After the defeat of the Sri Lanka ODI team led by Kusal Janith Perera against England, Dasun Shanaka again got the Sri Lanka ODI captaincy in 2021. Taking charge, Dasun first participated in a tour of India. Although they lost the ODI series 2-1, they managed to win the T20I series 2-1. Then, in September 2021, the team led by Dasun Shanaka, who won the series 2-1 in the ODI tour against South Africa, managed to win the series against South Africa after 8 years. In June 2022, Dasun’s leadership qualities emerged after 12 years of defeating the Australian team and recording an ODI victory against Australia.
The Sri Lankan team managed to win 13 consecutive ODI matches under the leadership of Dasun Shanaka. With the loss of the final match of the Asia Cup, that continuity stopped, and Sri Lanka’s name was also recorded in the cricket record book as the team that won the most number of matches in a row by dismissing all the players. Dasun Shanaka has led the Sri Lankan team in 39 ODIs and has managed to win 23 of them. 15 matches have been lost.
However, due to Sri Lanka’s loss to India in the last Asian Cup tournament, a strong discourse was created regarding Dasun Shanaka’s leadership. Although Dasun Shanaka has shown success as a leader, there were arguments that his service to the team as a batsman is minimal. There was also talk on social media that Dasun was ready to leave the leadership. Local and foreign commentators as well as ex-players responded in this regard, and they emphasized that Dasun should lead the World Cup starting in India as well.
Roshan Abeysinghe, an expert cricket commentator, points out that the achievements achieved as a visionary leader cannot be matched by anyone. He has emphasized that he is such an important cricketer. Whether winning 13 matches in a row is an easy task should be examined here. “It’s a record. We judge anyone by results. Roshan Abeysinghe has also said that the services and achievements achieved by Dasun Shanaka as a leader are limitless.
