Impact of Sri Lankan All-Rounders in the WT20 2016, India - Part II

As I have pointed out in my first post titled ‘Impact of Sri Lankan All-Rounders in the WT20 2016, India - Part I’, Angelo Mathews and Milinda Siriwardena will be the two key men that the Lankans will be banking on but they do have the services of two more all-rounders that can be drafted in depending upon the opposition and the conditions in general. Let us have a look at these two all-rounders and the kind of impact that they are likely to have on the mega tournament.

Thisara Perera

An attacking left hander, Perera has been with the Sri Lankan team for the last 6 to 7 years but is yet to truly fulfil the promise that he showed at school stage. He is a batsmen who can score at a blistering pace when set and he loves hitting in the arc between mid wicket and long on though he has worked on his off side game in the last year or so. He is capable of blasting a quick 30-40 in 15-20 deliveries to close the innings out and he was the catalyst that helped Sri Lanka win the ICC WT20 2014 in Bangladesh easily after he struck 3 huge sixes to score 23* in just 14 balls to seal the match for them.

He is also a bustling medium pace bowler who has variations of pace up his sleeve along with the disconcerting bounce that he sometimes is capable of generating. He recently claimed a hat trick against the Indians in the second T20I at Ranchi when he had Raina, Pandya and Yuvraj all caught out, becoming only the fourth bowler to do so in T20I format. He is also the only bowler along with Brett Lee to have claimed a hat trick in both ODI and T20I formats of the game. Perera can be a man who can unlock the answers to many questions simultaneously and be the high impact player for Sri Lanka in the ICC WT20 2016.

Impact Rating – 7/10

Shehan Jayasuriya

Shehan Jayasuriya made his international debut for Sri lanka late last year with a 40 off just 32 balls in a T20I against Pakistan at Colombo. He is an attacking left handed batsman who is capable of stepping on the gas and hitting the big shots. He particularly favours the off side and the area behind backward point is his favourite as he loves the cut shot.

He is also a right arm off break bowler who generally darts the ball into the batsmen’s legs cramping them for room and making shot making difficult. He has played 40 T20 matches so far scoring 698 runs at a strike rate of 114 runs per hundred balls and has taken 28 wickets at an economy rate of 7.23. His was a left field selection and not many within Sri Lanka are happy with it, Jayasuriya will have a lot to do to prove his critics wrong.

Impact Rating – 4/10

Thisara Perera and Shehan Jayasuriya might not play all the matches for Sri Lanka, but they do provide them with handy back up options in case they want to go with an extra medium pace or spin bowling all-rounder.

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