Sri Lanka would come back strongly, feels Romesh Kaluwitharana
15 January, 2018
Former explosive batsman Romesh Kaluwitharana has no doubt in his mind that Sri Lanka will tide over the bad times and make a strong comeback in international cricket.
“All the teams go down the course for sometime, you have good times and bad times. They (Sri Lanka) are not doing well at the moment, but definitely in the time to come they will come back strong and I hope they do it pretty fast,” 48-year-old Kaluwitharana told reporters in Mumbai.
He was speaking after jerseys of teams of the SAI-Mumbai Masters T20 League were launched.
Quizzed what needs to be changed in Sri Lankan cricket, he quipped, “There are people who are doing it, seeing where it going wrong. They will do the right thing.”
Sri Lanka have been struggling in international cricket in recent times. They lost the Test, ODI and T20 series against India.
Earlier, they also lost an ODI series against Pakistan 5-0, besides losing an ODI series to Zimbabwe at home.
Asked who are the players who can lead Sri Lanka’s revival, Kaluwitharana said there were five-six players who would be instrumental in bringing the team on board.
“There are more than 3-4 players who can do it for the national team, get the team back on track, to play competitive cricket and get the winning momentum going,” he said.
“It is matter of time that the players have their confidence level high and believe in being themselves and delivering their achievements.”
Asked specifically to name the players, Kaluwitharana said, “No (I won’t as) it is not fair for someone who is a young player and better than senior players, there are 5-6 good players (who) can get Sri Lanka team back on the track.”
He also suggested that playing positive cricket was important for the Indian team to bounce back in the three-match Test series.
India lost the first Test by 72 runs in Cape Town after their batsmen faltered in the second innings against a strong South African attack.
“It is quite different than the other times you play in South Africa, they are making green and fast wickets. Playing positive cricket will be the key, India will come back strong (in current series in South Africa),” Kaluwitharana, who played 189 ODIs and 49 Tests, signed off.
TAG(s):