Promising Kaushal Silva left in the lurch

CRICKET: It is a surprising move that the selectors name a player ostensibly in their strongest Test squad then dump him in the lurch before he has a chance to prove or disprove his worth in the side.

This is the case of promising wicket-keeper batsman Kaushal Silva who has been a prolific scorer and knocking at the door for national recognition. He has been left out and is in no man's land. Kaushal, the former Thomian captain and the present captain of the SSC in the Premier Division has done almost everything to stamp his class as a top flight wicket-keeper. He is an able batsman, excelling for the Sri Lanka 'A' Team in recent years.

Kaushal captained the Sri Lanka 'A' against Australia in 2009/10 in two matches. He scored 89 with an average of 22.25. Against Pakistan 'A', he was the vice captain. He struck an unbeaten 124 and against South Africa 'A' he batted impressively to be the highest scorer (84) and he was also unbeaten on 70.

Kaushal was drafted to the national squad for the Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka for all three Test matches in 2009, but could not find a place in the final eleven. He was also selected to tour India with the Test squad this year, but strangely was a passenger completely ignored from even a side game. The sad story about Kaushal is that worthy talent has been left to wither by the way side without gaining due recognition. It is no secret that Kaushal has put his opposite numbers under pressure by his impressive feats. RA