Rumesh Ratnayake clarifies regarding Sri Lanka's chances in World Twenty20

Former Sri Lanka cricketer Rumesh Ratnayake wishes to clarify some comments attributed to him in an article entitled 'Sri Lanka won't defend T20 World Cup' published in the Sunday Observer of 22nd November 2015.

Rumesh Ratnayake

When asked about Sri Lanka's chances of defending the World Twenty20 title in India next year, Ratnayake said no team apart from Australia has won back-to-back World Cup titles and that too in the 50-over format.

"It's very hard isn't it because if you see the trend, nobody has won back-to-back (in T20). Only in 50-over (World Cup) Australia has done it. That was unique because they had great teams and they performed as well. But in T20 it is very hard to see a team winning back-to-back (titles) because even the weakest teams, if they do what they have to do on that particular day, big teams can crumble," said Ratnayake was consultant coach of the Sri Lanka team during the World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand this year.

However, he did not rule out Sri Lanka's chances of successfully defending the title they won in Bangladesh last year under Lasith Malinga.

"It is a huge challenge but not impossible for Sri Lanka to defend the World Twenty20. I did not mean Sri Lanka will not be able to defend the title," says the former Sri Lanka bowling coach.

He said there have been instances where what seemed impossible has been achieved citing New Zealand's triumph in the Rugby World Cup becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles.

Ratnayake, who is domiciled in Australia where he has opened his own academy, also wishes to state that he has not committed to sit in Oman's dug-out during the World T20 event.

"I was doing an assignment for Oman to look after their fast bowlers because they have qualified for the World T20 next year. I did one programme with them in May of this year. They asked me whether I could do programmes with them in the months before the World Cup. That's a decision which is just pending because I live in Australia," said Ratnayake who stepped down as Development Officer of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in July after serving for 14 years in countries like Hong Kong, Nepal, Malaysia, China, Bhutan and the Maldives.

"I don't know whether they will call me or not. They might be wanting to have me for small projects. I'm doing small projects prior to the World Cup," reiterated Ratnayake who felt debutants Oman coached by his former team-mate and captain Duleep Mendis could make an impact at the World Cup.

"They (Oman) are asking me whether I will be available. I don't know at this stage whether I will be available or not," said Ratnayake who played in 23 Tests and 70 ODIs from 1982 to 1993 for Sri Lanka.

Allaam Ousman Sinte