Sri Lanka leaps to sixth in ODI rankings
Sri Lanka has jumped to sixth rank in the ICC’s Men’s One Day International (ODI) rankings, following their spectacular performance in the recent series against India which Sri Lanka won 2-0.
After this victory Sri Lanka move to Test cricket and they are ready to play a three Test match series against England which will commence from August 21st at Manchester. After England Test series New Zealand team expected to arrive in Sri Lanka for a two Test match series which will commence from September 18 at Galle.
According to the ICC’s latest ODI rankings, Sri Lanka has pushed England to number seven following their final ODI victory against India. However India still leads the ICC’s Men’s ODI rankings, followed by Australia, South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand. Sri Lanka presently is in 7th position at ICC Test ranking while Australia, India , England, South Africa, Pakistan New Zealand are ahead of Sri Lanka.
Winning ODI series against India gave big boost to Sri Lanka team while Interim Head coach Sanath Jayasuriya highly appreciates the Sri Lanka team led by Charith Asalanka after the India series. Jayasuriya, who was part of the Sri Lankan team that last won a series against India in 1997, expressed his deep satisfaction at being part of this historic moment. The skipper Charith Asalanka also said team commitment is very high and their dedication paved the way to get success while Interim head coach gave freedom to play the game with more confidence.
“It was a very long wait because I played in that series in 1997 and got a lot of runs said Sanath Jayasuriya . That was the last series we won against India. After 27 years, I am part of the team and I am very happy to be part of these boys. They are a very nice bunch of players and are talented and the whole country would have seen what we can do,” said Jayasuriya.
“The boys went through a very hard time. Even during the T20 series, we played well but the result was not what was expected. The players realised what went wrong when we came back to Colombo and they started to play well said Jayasuriya who always encouraged the team to go forward.
Jayasuriya noted how the team’s top order set strong foundations and how the younger players, including Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis Charith Asalanka, made significant contributions.
“We have been working with players like Dunith Wellalage, Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, and Charith Asalanka all are very young players.Wanindu Hasaranga got injured and Vandersay has been there for a long time but never got the opportunity and when we gave him the opportunity, he grabbed it with both hands.
Jayasuriya also highlighted the impact of a seven-day coaching program conducted by Zubin Bharucha, the Director of High Performance at the Rajasthan Royals. Bharucha’s focus on long innings played a crucial role in building the players’ confidence.
“I got Zubin from the Rajasthan Royals and he came and did a seven-day coaching program. We learnt a lot, the players learnt a lot about how to bat long innings, and one batsman was batting 2-3 hours. That gave the batters a lot of confidence. The players only need confidence. If they get some runs on the board, if they are bowling well, if someone gets starts and gets big runs, those are the little things they can do to get their confidence high. At the end of the day, we have beaten the No. 1 team in the world,” said Jayaisuriya.
Jayasuriya, who will return to his role as high-performance manager, expressed his gratitude towards Sri Lanka Cricket for their support. “I’m here as an in-charge for high performance, but I will support Sri Lanka Cricket in any way I can. I hope they find a great coach to lead this young team to further success. Meanwhile former England cricketer Ian Bell will join the Sri Lanka Test team as specialist batting coach for the England series and his inclusion definitely give much assistance to the Sri Lanka batting coach Thilina Kandambi to adjust to the English conditions.
ICC ODI rankings
1.India , 2. Australia , 3. South Africa, 4.Pakistan, 5. New Zealand , 6. Sri Lanka, 7. England , 8. Bangladesh, 9, Afghanistan, 10. West Indies
ICC Test rankings
1 Australia , 2. India, 3. England , 4. South Africa , 5. New Zealand, 6. Pakistan , 7 Sri Lanka , 8.West Indies 9,Bangladesh , 10. Ireland
ICC T-20 rankings
1.India , 2 Australia , 3. England, 4. West Indies , 5. South Africa , 6 New Zealand , 7. Pakistan, 8. Sri Lanka , 9. Bangladesh, 10. Afghanistan