Players have lost focus due to IPL - De Mel

Players have lost focus due to IPL

- De Mel

By Champika Fernando

The flagging fortunes of Sri Lanka at the international level could well be attributed to the infusion of youth into the big league, as team coach Trevor Bayliss emphasized in an exclusive interview with LAKBIMAnEWS a fortnight ago, but chief selector Ashantha de Mel says the players have lost their focus due to the cash-rich Indian Premier League.
“I wish they show the same kind of passion and spirit while playing for the country,” de Mel, who opened bowling for country’s inaugural Test in 1982, said.
Sri Lanka lost 12 matches, won eight and drew two during the period since World Cup, which included a humiliating 3-2 drubbing by the Englishmen in our own backyard, the first series defeat against England at home.
“They seem to be more interested in playing for the IPL than the country and that’s why I said they have lost the focus,” he explained.
The former fast-bowler is not in favour of the wham-bang version of cricket which he thinks doesn’t augur well for the game.
“It’s certainly good for the players and they will be hugely benefited from the IPL. But I doubt whether it would make any positive impact on the game. What I see right now is that the players have got distracted by this, which isn’t good for the game,” he added.
A number of national caps including Sri Lanka’s highest capped ODI player Sanath Jayasuriya, world’s leading bowler Muttaih Muralitharan, skipper Mahela Jayawardene and his deputy Kumar Sangakkara are currently involved with the cash-rich IPL. Having taken nearly two months off from international cricket, the national cricketers would resume their international commitments at the next month’s Asia Cup starting in Pakistan on June 24 but many wonder whether the defending champions have got the same character to retain the title.
The selectors, having watched the swashbuckling 45 ball century of veteran Sri Lanka opener Sanath Jayasuriya at the IPL, had recalled the master-blaster into the national side to strengthen the opening slot.
Though Sri Lanka is close to find a stabilized opening combination in Michael Vandort and Malinda Warnapura in the traditional five-day game, in the shorter version the team has struggled to unearth the right combination of players, which has been a major contributory factor in the dwindling performances of the team.

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