Dhananjaya de Silva wants Sri Lanka fast bowlers to 'raise their game a little bit'

Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva would like to have extra genuinely fast quick bowlers to choose from, and he desires extra from the seamers within the group already.

Asitha Fernando has been so constant over the previous few years that he has develop into Sri Lanka’s lead seamer. However the place he delivers consistency and depth within the 130kph vary, Sri Lanka have tried to unsettle opposition batters by fielding a fast able to larger tempo on the different finish.

The incumbent foil for Asitha has been Lahiru Kumara, who, after 36 Exams, has 106 Check wickets at a median of 36.38. Not solely is that common modest – his returns from the primary Check in opposition to India in Galle have been 2 for 104 – Kumara has additionally battled accidents for almost all of his profession, having been unable to finish at the very least 5 separate Exams.

“Even with Lahiru Kumara, we’ve tried very arduous to get him to play injury-free,” de Silva mentioned forward of the second Check in opposition to India. “In the intervening time, given our sources, Lahiru Kumara is the very best match to associate Asitha. Asitha’s line and size is ideal, and Lahiru Kumara has the tempo. With the sources we’ve now, these are the very best gamers.

However de Silva would ideally like a wide range of sooner bowlers to select from. Sri Lanka do have fast bowlers of their system – Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, and Matheesha Pathirana to call simply three. Madushanka had even been a part of Sri Lanka’s Check squad for Galle, earlier than he was launched to play a home T20, and has not made it to the Check squad for the SSC Check.

Chameera has performed 12 Exams in his profession, however the final of those was in 2021. Given his historical past of damage and his significance to the limited-overs groups, Sri Lanka have chosen to protect Chameera for the white-ball codecs.

The selectors and administration haven’t mentioned a critical plan to broaden the pool of sooner bowlers obtainable for multi-day cricket.

“International tempo bowlers have taken 5 wickets in Galle, for example, however lately, none of our seamers have finished that at Galle or SSC. Our quick bowlers lack that confidence. If they’ll increase their recreation a bit of bit – [by] a couple of p.c – we are able to transfer ahead higher as a group”

Dhananjaya de Silva, SL captain

“I would additionally like for there to be two or three bowlers who can bowl at greater than 140kph, however sadly we solely have one bowler like that [in the Test set-up],” de Silva mentioned. “For now I have never been given an enormous plan about about who we may carry into the Check set-up. I am hoping we are going to produce extra cricketers like that in future. “

Fielding two quick bowlers in an assault has been a characteristic of de Silva’s captaincy, with current ex-coaches akin to Chris Silverwood and Sanath Jayasuriya additionally having targeted on creating fast-bowling expertise. By the again half of the 2010s, Sri Lanka had relied so closely on spin at dwelling that they’d grown accustomed to taking part in just one seamer.

“Each match we have performed underneath me, we have had two tempo bowlers, when up to now, we might solely bowl one,” he mentioned. “I imagine pacers have a task to play in Sri Lanka. In case your quick bowlers can get wickets right here, they’ll get wickets anyplace. That is one thing we’ve to be taught shortly.”

Over the previous 15 years, just one Sri Lanka fast has taken a five-wicket-haul in Sri Lanka when Nuwan Pradeep took 6 for 132, in opposition to India, in 2017. In that point, 14 visiting fast bowlers have claimed five-wicket hauls. Mitchell Starc and Junaid Khan have finished it 3 times apiece.

“International tempo bowlers have taken 5 wickets in Galle, for example, however lately, none of our seamers have finished that at Galle or SSC,” de Silva mentioned. “Our quick bowlers lack that confidence. If they’ll increase their recreation a bit of bit – [by] a couple of p.c – we are able to transfer ahead higher as a group.”

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