Kumar Sangakkara believes Karunaratne can help win the World Cup
Former Cricketer and Captain of Sri Lanka team Kumar Sangakarra said last Thursday that he thinks new Test and ODI captain Dimuth Karunaratne’s lack of ODI experience in recent years could be beneficial to the team.
“He doesn’t come in with the baggage of being part of a set-up that for the last two-and-a-half years have had a lot of issues. He won’t have partisanship in terms of how he wants to play or who he wants on the side,” said Sangakkara in an interview at Lord’s Cricket Grounds.
He added that with two new balls used in ODI, the ability to anchor the innings and bat for long periods of time would be crucial to winning the World Cup.
This comes after Sri Lanka had lost eight out of their nine ODI series matches and had changed six captains in the last two years.
“It’s been quite chaotic, both in terms of continuity in selection and giving players a very good, consistent run in the team, which is essential for confidence,” he continued.
“If it’s a constant change and churn, where you’re always looking over your shoulder trying to safeguard your position, rather than trying to execute team strategy, I think that becomes a big problem.”
Sri Lanka’s latest Test and ODI captain is leading batsman Karunaratne who had not played ODI cricket since 2015, mainly due to his low scoring rate in white ball cricket.
“Dimuth Karunaratne is a very capable player, technically very sound, has been very successful in Test cricket over the last two years,” said Sangakkara.
Cricket commentator Sangakkara will be the first non-British president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) who owns Lord’s Cricket Grounds, cricket’s legislator, and was formerly the governing body of cricket in England and Wales. He will start his 12-month position in October.
