When Sri Lanka finally ended their finals’ jinx by beating favourites India in the summit clash of the 2014 World T20 in Dhaka, they also climbed up the rankings to occupy the No 1 spot.
Having lost four major finals before the event in Bangladesh -- two 50-over World Cup finals (2007 and 2011) and as many Wolrd T20 finals (2009 and 2013) – Sri Lanka finally bagged an ICC silverware in what was a perfect T20 send-off for two of their finest cricketing ambassadors – Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
Since the retirement of the two stalwarts, the fortunes of the island nation have nosedived drastically. The defending champions thus begin as the eighth-ranked team among eight direct entrants to the tournament proper starting March 15.
Their performance post the WT20 triumph has been pretty ordinary. Just four wins -- two of them coming in the last month -- in 14 matches indicate their struggles. That they managed just one win – against UAE – in the Asia Cup they were defending points to their dwindling cricketing fortunes.
The frequent defeats across formats have definitely hurt their morale. “It is quite damaging, especially for your confidence,” said Lanka’s stand-in T20 skipper Angelo Mathews following their loss to India in the Asia Cup. “You can’t keep losing, it’s difficult to digest. So close to the World Cup, we have to connect the dots and, may be, try out a few combinations.”
In the post Jayawardene-Sangakkara, the likes of Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal and Chamara Kapugedera, among other young batsmen, were expected to carry forward the great legacy but they have so far been unable to plug the big gap. And veteran opener Tillakaratne Dilshan appears to be batting from memory these days.
With uncertainty over regular T20 skipper and pace spearhead Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka’s attack has lost its bite. The absence of Malinga after the first match against UAE in the Asia Cup could be felt through their botched up campaign.
Another senior bowler Nuwan Kulsekara and the experienced Rangana Herath will have to shoulder the bowling burden along with off-spinner Sachitra Senanayake and young paceman Dushmantha Chameera.
The Lankans for sure start as underdogs but expect them to pull off a few surprises given their experience in the shortest format.