'We had an identity, people wanted to emulate us' - Aravinda De Silva rues lack of aggression in current Sri Lanka team

Former Sri Lanka captain Aravinda De Silva joined the history books with his three-fer and an unbeaten 107 as the team Arjuna Ranatunga-led by won its maiden World Cup in 1996. De Silva is widely termed as the greatest entertainer in cricket, owing to his fearless and flamboyant batting style. But the veteran has pointed out the lack of the same approach in the current Sri Lanka team. 

The Lanka Lions’ performance on the international stage has gone south after seniors such as Kumara Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga hung their boots. As the low-on-morale Lankans appeared in England for the Test series, de Silva hailed the English for keeping the fearless and attacking approach intact. He also lamented the way the team is pursued contrary to the teams that ruled the hideaway talks.

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"That was Sri Lanka playing like no other side has done in history. We had an identity, people knew the way that Sri Lankan cricketers played the game and teams wanted to emulate that. I don’t think we have that at the moment,” said De Silva to inews.co.uk. 

"I’m enjoying the way that England are playing their cricket at the moment. They’re playing very, very attacking cricket – whether they’re bowling or batting, England are taking a really positive approach and it’s paying off. Winning in England is hard. But it’s certainly not impossible," he added.

After getting ousted from the league stages of the World Cup 2023, the island country eyed a resurgence in the USA and the Caribbean. They entered Long Island for the T20 World Cup 2024 and were treated the same way as before. Losing to Bangladesh and South Africa, they were again shown the exit door in the group stages.

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It is worth noting that the team has won one Test in England during their 2014 tour. The subsequent tour in 2016 bore no result as a 2-0 loss was handed over to the visitors. Moreover, England have the upper hand, having won seven out of eight Tests between both nations. This makes the Lankans enter the first Test at Old Trafford in Manchester on 21 August 2024 as underdogs.