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| Sunday, 4 May 2003 |
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Team building must come gradually - Kaluperuma by SRIAN OBEYESEKERE Sri Lanka's chief cricket selector Lalith Kaluperuma is a realist who does not believe into rushing into long term policies of selection. Kaluperuma, a gutsy allrounder, who broke into the game scoring a quick 90 coming in as 'night watchman' at No. 3 in the country's early years of Test cricket, is firm in his belief that the transition of team building should come gradually. While stressing that we are not short sighted to go series by series, but that we are looking in the long term, however, "I must say that as of now it is far too early to rush into looking at 2007. The next World Cup is four years from now," he said. The Chairman of selectors was answering a question by the Sunday Observer as to rumblings in certain quarters as to how viable the choice of captains and team selections had been since he took over from Guy de Alwis. It has not only been the talk of the town, but has also generated tremendous interest in the international cricketing community. Understandably so, for a country that has hogged the limelight so much. Ever-since Sanath Jayasuriya gave up the captaincy, Sri Lanka's cricketing fortunes have attracted the world with some quarters both at home and abroad, questioning the wisdom of the national selectors since two aged over 30 were selected to lead separate one-day and Test teams. Hashan Tillekeratne (35) for Tests and Marvan Atapattu (32) for one-dayers are the captains. This and the harping on the over 30's where no bones were made that experience could not be written off, led to some scribes asking whether the selectors were really looking in the long term. It has also been asked as to why a youngster had not been earmarked as vice captain with the long term in view. But, the chairman of selectors insisted that no rash decisions had been taken saying, "Even the captaincy has not been given in the long term. We will be assessing the performance of each captain, series by series, in looking for the right choice ahead. We will be looking at how Hashan (Tillekeratne) and Marvan (Atapattu) perform in the current home exchanges. Even the vice-captaincy will have to be looked into by assessing the performances of some candidates we are looking at," said Kaluperuma. Indeed, the elder statesman of selectors, now in his fifties, who heads a four-member committee also comprising of former veteran cricketer, Aravinda de Silva, Ashley de Silva and Roger Wijesuriya, will have the luxury of a whole wide ocean of cricketing activity before to evaluate. Sri Lanka is engaging in a 2-Test series against New Zealand, the second which commenced in Asgiriya yesterday which will be followed by a one-day triangular involving Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan this month. Sri Lanka will thereafter tour the West Indies for a 2-Test series and a series of one-day matches while England is expected to tour here later in the year. Kaluperuma said that the naming of the one-day squad for the upcoming home triangular would be done after the first warm-up match between a Board XI and Pakistan on May 7. "We have several candidates in mind and we would like to see how they fare in the warm-up match," said Kaluperuma. |
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