Sep 16, 2007 02:42 PM
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So many things come to mind when one thinks of the Sri Lankan cricket team.They are true inheritors of the west indies' legacy.Like the caribbeans of yore they play as a cohesive unit and with a great deal of style.There are star performers in the Lankan side who never let anything come in the way of the interests of the team.Like the other islanders the Lankans are very focussed and concern themselves nowadays only with the business of winning.If manifold records tumble along the way that is only incidental.It does seem that these very patriotic men do not chase records but they regularly fall into their kitty anyway.In this day & age our neighbours from across the Palk Strait are certainly a force to reckon with.
Yet, it was not like this always.In his autobiography'Sunny Days' Sunil Gavaskar records memories of a non-official visit to Sri Lanka.They were minnows then and lost every single encounter to the visiting indian team.Sri Lanka was accorded test status in 1982.Despite their obvious determination to make a mark this team was not taken seriously till they lifted the World Cup in 1996 under coach Dav Whatmore.Thereafter their fortunes have only travelled north.They are beginning to be counted with the mighty Aussies and South Africans.Some of the prominent Lankan cricketers are Duleep Mendis, Roy Dias, Sidath Wettimuny, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda De Silva, Roshan Mahanama, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumara Sangakkara, Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene and Mutiah Muralitharan.
