Shanaka blames pitches for batting woes
View(s):Sri Lanka’s T20 captain Dasun Shanaka took a dig at the pitches for the team’s batting failures, expressing confidence that this World Cup will provide an opportunity for the batters to shine as they look to leave behind years of disappointment and push for at least a semi-final berth.
The T20 World Cup began yesterday in Colombo, and Sri Lanka, playing in Group B of the 20-team tournament, will meet Ireland at 7:00pm at the R. Premadasa Stadium tonight, a track that usually supports the spinners.
“If you look closely, you can understand why wickets fall in clusters and why strike rates remain low,” the 34-year-old, captaining his third T20 World Cup, said.
“For this tournament, the ICC has stipulated a minimum level of grass on the pitches, and I am confident this will lead to improved strike rates and better batting performances.
“Personally, I prefer playing on good batting tracks where I can express my ability, something that becomes difficult on excessively turning pitches. A lot of people speak negatively about me because of this. If you look at India, they consistently score runs. The question then is why Indian batters are able to do so while we struggle. It largely comes down to conditions.”
In the England series, Sri Lanka failed to chase 129 in the third T20I, conceding a 12-run defeat to complete a 3-0 whitewash, as the Sri Lankan batters, including Shanaka, looked like deer caught in the headlights against the English spinners. But Shanaka insists this tournament will define them.
“I am confident these numbers will change significantly during this World Cup,” he said.
“You can then make a fair assessment by comparing our performances before and after the tournament. I truly believe this will be a good tournament for our batters.”
However, Shanaka did not have clear answers when asked why Sri Lanka opted for slow, turning pitches instead of flatter tracks that would have given the batters a fair chance to score freely.
“I was appointed captain recently, so I am not fully aware of the earlier plans or why there was a preference for spin-friendly tracks. In my opinion, batting on flatter wickets is more beneficial. Yes, we have quality spinners, but so do other teams. Preparing balanced, 50-50 wickets will help our players in the long run.”