Next Gen Showdown: Sri Lanka, New Zealand Begin T20 World Cup Prep

Next Gen Showdown: Sri Lanka, New Zealand Begin T20 World Cup Prep Many things happen in a month. Not so long ago, New Zealand was in Sri Lanka, beaten 2-0 in a Test series. There they went to India, and things did not need to go quite so badly there.

Sri Lanka was on a high. They had recently lost a Test series in England but ended on a high note by gaining the final Test. To add to all that, they won a series against India and outplayed New Zealand in Tests. Then came West Indies; they were never defeated by the latter in a T20I series by Sri Lanka. Yet, Sri Lanka did it again: Sri Lanka went on to win both ODIs and T20Is. Momentum was with them.

New Zealand pulled off a surprise of sorts, as they whitewashed India 3-0 in the Test series. No one saw this coming. This means a lot of things for the upcoming series – a different format and with most of the lineup, except a few such as Mitchell Santner, Glenn Phillips, Will Young, and several others, a more confident New Zealand.

With the T20 World Cup set to be played just 15 months from now, which Sri Lanka will co-host, both teams need to be on high alert and set to pledge to a noisy series.

Oh, seamers – where art thou?

Sri Lanka boasts some quality fast bowling presently. A strong list includes the likes of Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Binura Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara. To that list comes the inclusion of Mohamed Shiraz who will debut in T20I while coming in with Eshan Malinga- who has been going great in the ‘A’ team.

But the Sri Lankans did not employ much of fast bowling in the recently concluded T20I series against the West Indies. Seamers bowled just 17.1 overs out of 72 possible overs with Pathirana delivering 7.1 overs. Pathirana, retained by IPL’s Chennai Super Kings for $1.56 million recently, bowled just 43 balls across the series.

Sri Lanka’s overall home success has largely come from spin-friendly pitches. Using spin to their advantage might work in the short term but raises the question of whether such an approach restricts their talented fast bowlers.

Conditions, for one. Sri Lanka’s spinners helped their side to an outright win over New Zealand in October. New Zealand has been in good nick lately in India and would be confident of returning to Sri Lanka with a lot to look forward to. For the second time, Dambulla is one of the grounds where spin plays its due importance. But New Zealand isn’t without skillful spinners like Santner, Phillips, and Sodhi, who would make it even trickier if conditions fall in their favor.

While Sri Lanka’s batting has gone well around spin at home, there are a few things to take into consideration here. For one, perhaps New Zealand did not properly prepare for their Test series in October. The West Indies admitted themselves to bowling poorly, as well.

New Zealand’s Mitchell Santner tried to explain the problems he faced at the Galle Tests, stating, “It was my first Test after a long stint of white-ball games. I was just trying to find my rhythm.” He says his accuracy in Sri Lanka was a little off.

If Sri Lanka continues to pitch this kind of spin-friendly pitches, especially against this relatively inexperienced New Zealand team, they should be warned. Pitches loaded with spin could let New Zealand bridge the gap while simultaneously curtailing Sri Lanka’s strong suites-batting and fast bowling.

Then there’s the weather factor; it is going to rain this week but not on match days. If there is rain then, it could make the pitch easier for the seamers, although that will not have been the plan initially.

Do Bhanuka and Chandimal fit?

While Sri Lanka’s team is largely there, Dinesh Chandimal, and to a lesser extent Bhanuka Rajapaksa, suggests still quite a bit of uncertainty over their final playing XI.

Sri Lanka already has a strong top order with players like Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, and Charith Asalanka. Together they would give utmost confidence, calm, and talent within the given playing XI.

The country has top talents of spin bowling in Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana while there are several good fast bowlers ready for replacement. They also possess a few versatile all-rounders in Dunith Wellalage (spinner) and Chamindu Wickramasinghe (seamer) who can also look at bigger hitting shots.

And therefore, where does Chandimal and Rajapaksa fit in? Chandimal has not played in the last three T20s. Rajapaksa hasn’t been able to make use of his big strengths as a batsman for now by batting at No 6. Fielding Rajapaksa is another cause of concern.

Considering that both of these spots may go to promising local players such as Nuwanidu Fernando or Sahan Arachchige, who have done well in domestic cricket, Chandimal and Rajapaksa in the side appear somewhat less required.