'Boys do not change their DPs as frequently as they change captains' - Wasim Jaffer takes a hilarious dig at Sri Lanka for appointing 10th captain since 2017

Not all is well with Sri Lanka, which has constantly been in the headlines for one wrong reason or the other. The team recently took a heavy beating against England in an away series, losing the T20Is 0-3, before conceding the ODIs 0-2. A 0-3 loss in the ODIs seemed all but certain too, however, persistent rain in Bristol during the final ODI after the visitors posted a paltry 166 meant that the game was abandoned.

The team is now in readiness to face India in a white-ball series, which gets underway from July 13, comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is. Notably, Sri Lanka will be led by Dasun Shanaka, who is set to be named the team’s limited-overs skipper, taking over from Kusal Perera, who assumed the role in May 2021.

Frequent leadership changes are emblematic of Sri Lanka’s dwindling and inconsistent returns across all the formats of the game. Shanaka is, in fact, going to be the 10th ODI skipper for the team since 2017. Upul Tharanga, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedara, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Lahiru Thirimanne, and Kusal Perera have led the Asian nation at some point or the other in the duration.

Wasim Jaffer’s hilarious take sums up the Sri Lankan state of affairs 

While one would suspect if there is anything even remotely hilarious about such state of affairs, Wasim Jaffer managed to find that angle even in such tragedy when CricTracker listed out each of Sri Lanka’s nine captains in the 50-over format since 2017 on Twitter. The former Indian player, known for his comedic and witty instincts, replied “Yaar itne to ladke dp nahi badalte jitne SL ne captain badle hai.” (Boys do not change their DPs as frequently as Sri Lanka changes captains).

Humour aside, Jaffer’s remark aptly sums up the dire straits that Sri Lankan cricket is in. Shanaka has limited experience of captaining, as he led the team that clean swept Pakistan in a 2019 T20I series. Under the now-sacked skipper Perera, Sri Lanka went on to lose each of the three series they played.

However, speculations are rife that voicing his grievance against the board and leading the players’ movement against Sri Lanka Cricket’s ‘unfair and non-transparent contracts’ led him to lose his position. Shanaka, on the other hand, was the first player to sign the Tours Contract for India series recently.

Yaar itne to ladke dp nahi badalte jitne SL ne captain badle hai. 😅 #SLvIND https://t.co/7dXJnGGwb6

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 9, 2021