Same storyline remerging after a decade ahead of T20 WC
Eleven years ago, in the middle of a World Cup campaign, Dinesh Chandimal did something few Sri Lankan captains would have ever dared to do. He stepped aside. With his form deserting him and the team wobbling, he handed over the captaincy to Lasith Malinga midway through the ICC World T20 in 2014.
What followed is now part of cricketing history as Sri Lanka, under Malinga’s stewardship, stormed to their long-awaited global title in Dhaka. Chandimal, once the golden boy of Sri Lankan cricket, watched from the sidelines as his teammates lifted the trophy he had dreamt of holding.
Dinesh Chandimal was the appointed skipper, but it was Lasith Malinga who led Sri Lanka to glory in 2014
Fast forward to 2025. Different time, different faces, but the echoes of 2014 ring unmistakably familiar. This time, it is Charith Asalanka caught in the storm’s eye. At 28, the left-handed middle-order batter who was once hailed as the future of Sri Lanka’s white-ball cricket, now finds himself gasping for air under the weight of expectation, leadership, and waning form.
Numbers don’t lie. In 2025 alone, Asalanka has managed just 156 runs from 12 innings at a modest average of 15.60—a figure that hardly befits a national captain. But context matters too. After all, India’s Suryakumar Yadav, one of the most feared T20 batters in the world, is also suffering a similar dip, just 218 runs from 18 innings at 14.00. The difference? No one’s calling for Suryakumar’s head. Asalanka, however, isn’t afforded the same patience.
His struggles with the bat have coincided with moments of uncertainty on the field–particularly those tactical missteps that he took during the Asia Cup. The murmurs grew into questions, and questions soon turned into demands: should Asalanka step aside, just as Chandimal did back then?
Charith Asalanka (3rd left) has had the backing of Dasun Shanaka (hands aloft) at SSC - File pic
Faced with growing public discontent and whispers within the cricketing establishment, the selectors found themselves at crossroads. They could have made the bold call to remove him. Instead, they doubled down, retaining Asalanka as captain for the upcoming T20 series in Pakistan. It was a move that defied popular sentiment, and perhaps, logic, but it also revealed a certain vulnerability.
In the same breath, they brought back former skipper Dasun Shanaka as vice-captain, a decision that, while dressed in diplomacy, spoke volumes.
“It’s not that we want to put any pressure on Charith,” said chief selector Upul Tharanga.
“We felt someone like Dasun, with experience, could help him.”
Fair words on the surface, but beneath them lies an uncomfortable truth: it’s a safety net. But remember this is a man, the same selectors found, not only good enough to lead the side but even to be in the side when they took over office two years back.
Ironically, Shanaka himself isn’t in the form of his life either. With just 147 runs from 11 innings this year, his batting average has dipped alarmingly. Yet, such is Sri Lanka’s thin leadership pool that even a struggling Shanaka becomes indispensable. His recall as vice-captain isn’t about brilliance, it’s about insurance.
For Asalanka, this tour to Pakistan will be more than a test of skill, it will be a test of nerve. He needs runs, runs to prove that he can walk straight into the team at any given time. When Asalanka bats with freedom, he’s a joy to watch, his strokeplay elegant, his timing effortless. But the weight of captaincy can turn even the most fluent artist into a hesitant survivor. But don’t forget he has flourished in the ODI format since taking over the leadership, scoring 703 runs in 18 innings at 43.93 including two of his five centuries.
If things go south in Pakistan, history could repeat itself, with Shanaka whose place in the side is better protected than our elephants in the forest, waiting in the wings, much like Malinga did in 2014. And that would not just be a personal setback for Asalanka, it would mark a step backward for Sri Lankan cricket’s rebuilding project, which was meant to revolve around him and a new generation of leaders.
Unlike 2014, however, there are no Mahelas or Sangas in the dressing room to lend wisdom or perspective. This is a matured, tested group still trying to find its own voice in a world that rarely forgives failure. The responsibility now rests squarely on Asalanka’s shoulders to rediscover himself, to steady the ship, and to prove that he’s more than just a player going through a rough patch.
Sri Lanka cricket has been here before, teetering between hope and heartbreak, caught in the eternal loop of rebuilding. But this time, the stakes feel heavier.
In the coming weeks, Asalanka will walk out under the lights in Rawalpindi, the noise of critics ringing in his ears, the ghosts of 2014 whispering in the background. Whether he silences them or succumbs to them could well define not only his future but also the direction, if there’s any, Sri Lankan cricket takes in the years to come.