World T20 2016: Sri Lanka Player Ratings

Sri Lanka had a pretty disappointing World T20 2016. They played 4 matches and managed to win just one match out of them, against Afghanistan; while they were comprehensively beaten by South Africa, England, and West Indies. The Lankans were struck a blow before the tournament started when their captain Lasith Malinga had to step down from captaincy and then withdraw his name from the tournament, due to an injury he had sustained in the Asia Cup T20 in Bangladesh.

In all, Sri Lanka lacked the fight they had shown in previous editions of the tournament and a new team with inexperienced players just couldn’t click as a unit and defending champions Sri Lanka bowed out of the tournament in the Super 10 group stages. Here are the player ratings for Sri Lanka squad.

Dinesh Chandimal – 3/10:

Dinesh Chandimal was the vice-captain of the team and was the in-form player for Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup T20 and the India-Sri Lanka T20I series. But luck and form deserted him at the worst possible moment at the start of World T20. He tried hitting his way into form and only succeeded in scoring the highest score of 21.

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 6/10:

39-year-old Dilshan might have played his last major tournament for Sri Lanka he a brilliant 83* against Afghanistan in the solitary match that Sri Lanka won. But his failure to give starts that the team is used to may be the final nail in the coffin for his Sri Lanka career.

Chamara Kapugedera – 3/10:

Chamara Kapugedera was supposed to be the main lynchpin in the middle order for the Sri Lankan batting, but a total of 50 runs in 4 matches revealed his weakness against quality fast bowling and trying too hard to up the ante meant losing his wicket early.

Lahiru Thirimanne – 2/10:

Lahiru Thirimanne was drafted in the squad after much noise in Sri Lanka because of his form in the domestic T20 matches. But spinners caught him on the wrong foot and out of form in the 4 matches he played and he ended up making just 14 runs in the tournament.

Dasun Shanaka – 4/10:

Dasun Shanaka gave a glimpse of what he could do in this World T20 2016 with some really big hitting innings. He showed that given a chance to play consistently and also given help and nurtured in the correct way, Sri Lanka’s future was bright in the hands of such young talent.

Angelo Mathews – 6/10:

Captain Angelo Mathews led from the front with the bat and almost stole a victory from the jaws of defeat against England in a crunch game, if not for some spirited bowling from Chris Jordan and a hamstring injury Mathews sustained. Overall, he receives much praise for leading a team without its main weapon Lasith Malinga.

Thisara Perera – 5/10:

Thisara Perera showed what he could do on his day with a brutal innings of 40 against England in a match that Sri Lanka almost won. But apart from that one innings, he did his bit with hitting some big sixes at the end and trying to finish the innings on a high. He also picked up 3 wickets in 4 matches he played with the best of 3/33.

Rangana Herath – 6/10:

Another lone warrior in the bowling department, Rangana Herath was lucky enough to get some help this time from leggie Vandersay but in all his inability to run through sides may have cost Sri Lanka the chance to give a tough fight in some of the matches. He picked up just 3 wickets in 4 matches.

Dushmantha Chameera – 3/10:

Dushmantha Chameera impressed everyone with his pace and swing on dead pitches in India. But his pace was expertly used by the batsmen and though he was fast, he wasn’t able to pick up a single wicket in the 3 matches he played for Sri Lanka in the World T20.

Shehan Jayasuriya – 2/10:

Shehan Jayasuriya played just two matches and made a single run in those matches, getting out to a brilliant delivery in one of them. He was supposed to give Sri Lanka the much needed impetus in the end overs but, unfortunately, came in too late to do anything to save Sri Lanka’s doomed World T20 campaign.

Nuwan Kulasekara – 3/10:

Nuwan Kulasekara was injured during the World T20 and played 2 matches picking up one wicket. He was good in the field but, apparently could not pick up the wickets he was supposed to at the start of the innings and that severely hurt the Sri Lankan aspirations of defending the title.

Jeffrey Vandersay – 5/10:

Jeffrey Vandersay was originally in the squad for World T20, before being dropped 24 hours before the start of the tournament. But an injury to Lasith Malinga meant that Vandersay was called in his place and he did impress everyone with his brilliant exhibition of leg spin bowling. Though he only picked 3 wickets in 4 matches, but the way he bowled and kept the batsmen on leash was great to watch and his economy of 5.16 is the proof of his exceptional control on the ball.

Milinda Siriwardana – 3/10:

Milinda Siriwardana was supposed to play the role of an all-rounder in the Sri Lanka team, but his failure with both ball and bat was disappointing to all of the Sri Lankan fans. But the future seems promising for the Sri Lankan fans and the Sri Lanka board needs to build the future on these players.

Suranga Lakmal – 2/10:

Lakmal got to play just one match after being drafted into the team at the last moment and bowled impressively taking one wicket for 28 runs against South Africa in a dead rubber.

How did the South African players fare? – World T20 2016: South Africa Player Ratings