Kaushal left in the lurch
RANJAn ANANDAPPA
It is a surprising move that the selectors name a player ostensibly
in their strongest Test squad then dump him in the lurch before he has a
chance to prove or disprove his worth in the side.
This is the case of promising wicket-keeper batsman Kaushal Silva who
has been a prolific scorer and knocking at the door for national
recognition. He has been left out and is in no man's land. Kaushal, the
former Thomian captain and the present captain of the SSC in the Premier
Division has done almost everything to stamp his class as a top flight
wicket-keeper. He is an able batsman, excelling for the Sri Lanka 'A'
Team in recent years.
Kaushal captained the Sri Lanka 'A' against Australia in 2009/10 in
two matches. He scored 89 with an average of 22.25. Against Pakistan
'A', he was the vice captain. He struck an unbeaten 124 and against
South Africa 'A' he batted impressively to be the highest scorer (84)
and he was also unbeaten on 70.
Kaushal was drafted to the national squad for the Pakistan tour of
Sri Lanka for all three Test matches in 2009, but could not find a place
in the final eleven. He was also selected to tour India with the Test
squad this year, but strangely was a passenger completely ignored from
even a side game.
The sad story about Kaushal is that worthy talent has been left to
wither by the way side without gaining due recognition. It is no secret
that Kaushal has put his opposite numbers under pressure by his
impressive feats. |