Special priority to be given to these two Sri Lankan Test players

The recent losses across all the formats have finally put an impact on Sri Lanka as the management is now taking necessary measurements for the future. Sri Lanka failed to win a series this year other than the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe. They were also whitewashed recently by the touring Indian side in the both Test and ODI series.

Additional to these, they lost an ODI series to Zimbabwe at home, got knocked out in the first round of the Champions Trophy and managed to drew series in all three formats at home against Bangladesh. The management has identified the young Kusal Mendis and chinaman spinner Lakshan Sandakan in their Test format plans by not picking them for the limited-overs cricket, especially T20Is, by putting them away from the format.

“We rested Kusal for the fifth ODI and the T20I and we haven’t played him in the T20Is against Bangladesh either. At this stage we don’t want to play him in T20s we prefer to wait for another 6-12 months before we look at playing him in that format,” said Asanka Gurusinha, the Sri Lanka cricket manager.

“Kusal will probably not be playing the T20Is against Pakistan either. We just want him to focus on Tests and ODI cricket for him to get first established and then look at the T20. He is a player for the future and we prefer to work with him closely.” Gurusinha was quoted saying to The Daily News.

We want Sandakan to settle down in Tests: Gurusinha

Gurusinha also told that they are looking at Lakshan Sandakan as a Test prospect and want him to excel in the longer format and gain confidence before bringing him into the shorter formats. According to the former Sri Lankan batsman, Sandakan and Kusal can be in the mix of Lankan national side for the next 5-10 years with this planning.

“We want Sandakan to settle down in Tests first because he is a wicket-taker. Without putting him into Tests, ODIs, and T20Is we first want him to play only Tests for the next six months or so. Once he has settled down and has more control and confidence we can get him into the ODIs. These are the guys in the next 5-10 years who will be the main players that people will talk about.” Gurusinha stated.