Batting in the top order will be a challenge against very good Indian attack, feels Dhananjaya de Silva

Young Sri Lankan batsman Dhananjaya de Silva has been called in to the Test team for the final Test against India. The third and the final Test of the 3-match Test series commences on December 2 and will be played at the Feroze Shah Kotla, Delhi. It has been a surprise recall for Dhananjaya who was abruptly axed from the national side last season. He had made a very impressive Test debut against a strong Australian side at home.

He had hit a century in his debut series. However, he was not picked up for the tour to UAE recently. Instead, the selectors sent him to the Caribbean as the captain of the ‘A’ team. Now, he is back and is expected to play in the top order. As per the recent quotes in Cricbuzz, Dhananjaya de Silva remarked that playing as a top order batsman against a quality Indian attack would be a challenge and he is ready for it.

“I have opened in T20 Internationals and ODIs before but Test cricket, this will be the first time it will happen. The possibilities of opening the innings have been discussed as it is not something new for me. It will be a challenge against a very good Indian attack and I am looking forward to that challenge,” quoted Dhananjaya de Silva.

Reflecting back at what transpired after the Australia series, Dhananjaya de Silva mentioned that he failed in a couple of series and hence, was axed from the side. The tour to South Africa last season was a big disappointment. However, whilst playing for the ‘A’ team, where he hammered a century and two fifties, he managed to get his basics right again. He is confident of a good return to the top level cricket.

“I started off well and then failed in two series and missed out. The South African tour was a big disappointment. It was very tough to miss out. I was sent back to the ‘A’ team and did reasonably well and was brought back to the side. I didn’t do too many changes when I was with the ‘A’ team. Avishka Gunawardene is the coach of ‘A’ team and he worked on simple things like watching the ball closely and playing the ball on merit. Once I started doing those basics right, the runs started coming and it feels good. You go through tough patches and the important thing is to come out of them strongly,” said de Silva.

On Sri Lanka’s batting woes

Trying to cite reasons for Sri Lanka’s dismal run in the ongoing series, Dhananjaya de Silva mentioned that the batsmen have to step up. Unless the batsmen score runs, there is very little that the bowlers can do. He cited that he will be available as a bowling option too. If need be, he does not mind bowling out 10 odd overs in the match and play as an all-rounder.

“The batsmen need to score runs. Why we have lost games is because the batsmen have failed. If the batsmen put runs on the board, the bowlers will take wickets and we are working hard to improve on our batting. I will be playing like an all-rounder, I think. I have been doing a lot of bowling as well and looking forward to it. But my main role will be as a batsman and what the team needs from me most is runs. So my main focus is on batting and maybe I will be called up to bowl ten overs or so,” de Silva remarked.