More opportunities for fringe players

by Sa'adi Thawfeeq

Former Sri Lanka 'A' skipper Tilan Samaraweera will lead a Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI in a 3-day practice match against the touring Bangladesh team starting at the Colombo Colts grounds today.

Along with Samaraweera there are two other players in the team who are members of the 15-member squad named for the two Tests against Bangladesh starting Monday next week at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

While Samaraweera is assured of his place in the Test eleven, it is not so in the case with opener Shantha Kalavitigoda and all-rounder Gayan Wijekoon who have three Test caps between them.

An eye-catching performance against the Bangladeshis will certainly enhance their chances of playing in the short series, although chairman of selectors Lalith Kaluperuma assuredly said that it wouldn't be in the first Test where all the established stars are expected to play.

"It is good for them if they can perform well in these matches because it gives us a lot of options during future selections," said Kaluperuma.

The Development squad of 14 players also comprises tried and tested players like Thilina Kandamby, Malintha Gajanayake, Jeevan Mendis, Gihan de Silva, Tharanga Lakshitha and Gihan Rupasinghe. There is also the former Sri Lanka under 19 captain Harsha Vithana and a host of players who have figured in the recently concluded under 23 tournament.

However the most notable inclusion is Udara Varna, the Bloomfield right-arm medium-fast bowler who led his team to win the under 23 final against Chilaw Marians on Saturday. Varna crashed through the Marians batting in the second innings taking five for 51 to set up a comfortable six-wicket win for his club. De Silva also a member of the winning team top scored in both innings with contributions of 69 and 36 not out.

Kaluperuma said that apart from Varna who has captured the second highest number of wickets in the under 23 tournament this season, Chintaka Perera, who is not likely to play today, has also won selection through good performances in the same tournament.

Bangladesh, who lost the one-day international series to Sri Lanka 0-3, will be without their captain Habibul Bashar for this game. Bashar left for home soon after the third international on Sunday when he heard that his mother had suffered from a stroke.

According to coach Dav Whatmore, Bashar is expected to be back in time for the first Test. Test specialists have replaced four players who were part of the one-day squad.

Nafees Iqbal, Enamul Haque and Shahadat Hossain join Tapash Baisya who arrived early and played in the one-day series. They replace one-day specialists Khaled Mahmud, Rajin Saleh, Nazmul Hossain and Abdur Razzak.

Mohammed Rafique who is nursing an injured knee is unlikely to play today.

Bangladesh faces a tall task trying to beat an upbeat Sri Lankan team under their own conditions. Whatmore is wary of this fact and he said: "In home conditions Sri Lanka are still formidable opponents although they are placed sixth in the ICC Test rankings."

"Their whole unit is functioning really well. So it is not going to be easy. We are always playing a team that is ranked above us. Murali has come back from injury and performed fairly well against West Indies. Vaas is a bowler who is beginning to realize his potential," he said.

Whatmore was confident that Bangladesh was on the right track to improve their cricket overall. "There are passages of play in the longer game that suggests they are on the way. But a Test match cannot be won in a session. You could go a long way in losing it. We need to guard against that," he said.

The teams:

SRI LANKA CRICKET DEVELOPMENT SQUAD: Tilan Samaraweera (captain), Shantha Kalavitigoda, Harsha Vithana, Malintha Gajanayake, Thilina Kandamby, Jeevan Mendis, Gihan de Silva (w/k), Udara Varna, Tharanga Lakshitha, Gihan Rupasinghe, Reserves: Chintaka Perera, Sandun Dias, Nisal Randika.

BANGLADESH (from): Khaled Mashud (captain), Jave Omar, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Bin Mortaza, Manjural Islam, Thushar Imran, Nafees Ahmed, Syed Rasel, Nafees Iqbal, Enamul Haque, Shahadat Hossain, Tapash Baishya, Mohammed Rafique.

UMPIRES: Ranmore Martinez and Godfrey Pushparajah.