One loss and things change pretty quickly in cricket. Sri Lankan captain Dasun Shanaka, who led his team to 12 consecutive ODI victories, faced thrashing of sorts at the hands of India in the Asia Cup Final. With unhappy selectors looking to remove him as the captain with Kusal Mendis emerging as the top contender to lead. But Sri Lanka Cricket has stopped itself from shooting at its feet with Shanaka set to continue until World Cup.
Sri Lanka Cricket selectors had an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss captaincy options. But with just two weeks to go, they have decided against a change in guard as per Newswire.
While Shanaka was exceptional in leading the side for two years, his form with bat and ball dipped a bit.
Cricket expert Harsha Bhogle was one of the first ones to speak on the subject. He took to Twitter and said, “Reports that Dasun Shanaka is likely to step down as Sri Lanka’s captain. I hope he wasn’t pushed. He is a good man and a fine leader but it is always tricky when the captain isn’t pulling his weight.”
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Not much is known about the reason behind Shanaka stepping down, but his form in recent times can be a big reason behind the all-rounder deciding to let go of the leadership hat.
The right-hander may have been feeling the burden of the captaincy, due to which his form with both the bat and the ball has seen a huge dip.
Shanaka averages just 19.12 with the bat when he leads the side, in comparison his average as a player in ODIs is 26.56.
The same reflects in his bowling, his bowling average goes from 31.20 to 35.82 when he leads Sri Lanka. The medium pacer’s strike rate also goes from 32.4 to 37.7.
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