Furore as Asalanka and Fernando depart for home after being axed for wanting out of Pakistan tour. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor).
The furore surrounding the axing of T20 skipper Charith Asalanka has raised the ire of cricket mad Sri Lankans worldwide all because he chose personal safety over playing cricket in volatile Pakistan.
A bomb blast in Islamabad spooked the Sri Lanka squad who are on tour brought memories of 2009 and flooded the frightening recollection when terrorists opened fire on the Sri Lanka team bus injuring a few players as they scrambled in terror while security personnel paid with their lives.
Asalanka’s decision as Skipper to abandon the tour is totally understandable, as skipper, he is responsible for his men. But his method of doing so is questionable.
Reports reaching here reveal Sri Lanka’s cricket administrators have sought to mete out punishment to players choosing personal safety over playing cricket despite a potentially dangerous environment under assurances for their safety and hightened security by Pakistan’s cricket board.
If Sri Lanka’s administrators punish Asalanka and Asitha Fernando for returning home, they would have shot themselves in the foot, particularly following it up by appointing Dasun Shanaka, as an underperforming Captain to lead the team for the rest of the series.
Hilarity has met the choice of a captain who has done little to justify the selection circus which does nothing to enhance Sri Lanka’s noticeable improvement recently.
While Asalanka made a decision to return home, he is also answerable to his management and coaching staff as per protocols that may now justify any disciplinary action against him.
Already the repercussions of the fractured team structure is in evidence as Sri Lanka, under Shanaka’s captaincy, were thrashed by Zimbabwe in the T20 tri- series also featuring host nation Pakistan.
There is bound to be a shake-up to the team management and coaching staff if they return home winless as the divide appears to have deepened over the handling of player concerns.
One step forward, several back, appears to be Sri Lanka’s record under Sanath Jayasuriya with speculation being rife that the chemistry between coaches and players has deteriorated to an alltime low.
The conclusion at a review will be interesting in the face of recent events and indications right now points to decisive action required to remedy the downward spiral of a talented squad.
