SPORTSChamindu Wickramasinghe likely to debut in third T-20

Sri Lanka are set to make at least one change for today’s third T-20 International against India at Pallekele with uncapped all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe expected to debut.

The 21-year-old was a standout performer during the recent Lanka Premier League and was drafted into the senior side on back of his impressive performances. He is expected to replace former captain Dasun Shanaka, who has been a flop in the series.

Shanaka was run out without facing a ball in the first game and in the second match was bowled by leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for a first ball duck. During the recent World Cup too he was dismissed for all single digit scores in three innings.

Sri Lanka lost the three match series against India with a game to spare. While they were beaten by 43 runs in the first game on Saturday on Sunday, they failed to defend 78 runs in eight overs as India secured an eight wicket win.

Batting collapses hurt Sri Lanka in both games after the top order had given them good starts. In the first game they were 140 for one and were cruising but then lost nine wickets for 30 runs in the space of 32 balls while on Sunday from 130 for two, they collapsed to 161 for nine losing seven wickets for 31 runs in 30 balls.

“We have seen this repeating for quite some time now. We had chats with batters and shared ideas as to what can be done. If things are not falling in line, then I guess inevitably we have to take tough decisions,” Batting Coach Thilina Kandamby told journalists.

“At the start of the year one of the major issues we had was that we lost too many wickets during the Power Play. We have addressed that issue I guess. Pathum Nissanka has helped us to overcome that problem and Kusal Mendis has supported him well. Then we have to deal with this middle order problem. It’s not a skill problem. It’s a problem with their decision making,” Kandamby explained.

“People think we don’t have power hitters. If you take the number of sixes we have hit this year, we are on par with the other teams. I think the problem is with handling situations,” Kandamby further said.