It could be the end of the road for off-spinner Akila Dhananjaya who was sent to South India to correct his bowling action which was declared illegal by the International Cricket Council.
Dhananjaya who had been discovered sometime ago by Mahela Jayawardena and even found a place in the Mumbai Indians team at last year’s IPL, could join another spinner Tharindu Kuashal who suffered the safe fate after been found guilty of throwing the ball instead of bowling which is called ‘chucking’ in slang.
“Dhananjaya is not the same bowler after his return (from correcting his action),” said Sri Lanka head selector Ashantha de Mel. “His modified action is not effective and he seems to be scared (of being booked again)”.
Sri Lanka now sees batsman Dhananjaya de Silva as the pick of the off-spinners moving to the World Cup and beyond in the limited overs format.
“Dhananjaya is the best off-spinner we have who can even bat in the middle order,” said De Mel.
Chandimal badly managed
But there has been all-round sympathy for onetime captain Dinesh Chandimal who could not find a place in the 15-man World Cup squad, in all probability a victim of bad player management that still remains to be corrected in the set-up.
Some claim he has been the victim of a witch-hunt for no reason.
But De Mel defended the omission saying Sri Lanka needed bowlers who could bat in the middle order which Chandimal is not able to do.