Jayasuriya and Mendis out of Sri Lanka Asia Cup squad

[mastana]

No Jayasuriya and Mendis in Asia Cup squad

Forty-year-old opener Sanath Jayasuriya has been dropped from the 15-member Sri Lanka squad for the Asia Cup starting in Dambulla next week. Also missing from the line-up is spinner Ajantha Mendis, while fast-bowling allrounder Farveez Maharoof is back in favour after recovering from a side strain which had kept him out of contention since February last year. This was the first squad picked by Sri Lanka's new selection panel, headed by former captain Aravinda de Silva, who took charge two weeks ago. Sri Lanka coach Trevor Bayliss had warned at the start of the year that Jayasuriya was unlikely to be picked as a specialist opener and that he would have to force his way in as a spinning allrounder if he was to play the 2011 World Cup. He had been left out of Sri Lanka's side for the tri-series in Bangladesh earlier this year as well, and had been moved out of his favoured opening slot to the middle order late last year. Jayasuriya's most recent outings for the national side were at the recent World Twenty20 in the West Indies, where he had a miserable time, averaging 3.75 in six matches. There were some surprises in the slow-bowling department with left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who last played an ODI in 2004, chosen ahead of Mendis, who has had a reasonably good tri-series in Zimbabwe. Two offspinners at opposite ends of their careers, 38-year-old Muttiah Muralitharan and newcomer Suraj Randiv, are the other specialist spinners. The Asia Cup will be held in Sri Lanka from June 15-24. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the other participating countries. Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt & wk), Muttiah Muralitharan (vc), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welegedara, Lasith Malinga, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Thilina Kandamby.

http://www.cricinfo.com/asia2010/content/current/story/462508.html

[ZodiaC]

Bit surprised with their decision to drop mendis, thought he did a fair job especially in powerplay overs. Anyways he ain't no mystery spinner anymore. :D

[achilles]

:hysterical: @ title.

[Sid]

well life has come full circle for mendis ,who became a hero in last asia cup finds himself dropped in the next one,it has been a fast decline for him .

[Lord]

hope Jayasuriya takes the cue n retires gracefully,so bad to see him dropped

[Gunner_Mania]

'Mendis was left out for tactical reasons' - de Silva

Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lanka's chairman of selectors, said poor form was the reason for Sanath Jayasuriya's exclusion from the team for the Asia Cup, while Ajantha Mendis was left out for "tactical reasons". "Sanath has not had a decent run lately we sidelined him after considering his performance over the past one year," de Silva said. "The decision to leave Mendis out was for tactical reasons. There are certain decisions we took for tactical reasons. Those areas I wouldn't want the opposition or any other team to know. It was discussed among the captain and the team management. I will talk to the players individually and explain to them so that they know why we have taken such a decision." Jayasuriya's miserable form with the bat continued at the World Twenty20 where he averaged 3.75 from six matches, leading to speculation about his future in the side. Mendis played a crucial role in Sri Lanka's victory in the recently concluded tri-series in Zimbabwe, so his exclusion for the Asia Cup was met with surprise. The selectors also gave unexpected call-ups to allrounder Farveez Maharoof and left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. "When we talk of allrounders there are two types: a bowling allrounder and a batting allrounder. Angelo Mathews is a batting allrounder and we wanted a bowling allrounder so we picked Maharoof," de Silva said. "We took Maharoof's record in Dambulla and he had performed well in the conditions there. When he was injured he couldn't play many matches and some of the matches he played were while he was recovering which we have also considered. Now that he is 100% fit we will look at his performance from now on," he said. Herath, De Silva stated was added to the bowling to lend it some variety. "We wanted some variation in the bowling attack. Since we are playing seven games at Dambulla the pitch might take turn towards the end of the tournament so we should have some sort of variation within the squad in case we need to have a bowler who bowls left-arm spin. Also Pakistan has got a fair bit of right-handers. We needed a bowler who will be able to bowl during the Powerplays. That's the reason why we have gone for him with his experience." De Silva said that the Sri Lankan batting line-up looked solid with a line up consisting of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Chamara Kapugedera and Thilina Kandamby. When media personnel raised the question why two youngsters - Dinesh Chandimal and Jeevan Mendis - who performed well in Zimbabwe were not included, de Silva said, "Chandimal and Jeevan have got great potential. It was very heartening to see them perform the way they did. We are playing three games initially in the Asia Cup and when you look at the team for the first two games they might not get the opportunity to play. "If that happens we are depriving them of the opportunity to go and get some exposure in Australia. We thought the best idea would be to allow them to go to Australia with the Sri Lanka A team and play there. That's one tour I will follow very closely which I think will be competitive. It will really separate the men from the boys, a tour of Australia," de Silva said.

http://www.cricinfo.com/asia2010/content/story/462606.html Such a different thought process when compared to our selection process. The seelctors even explain why A has been selected and why not B.

[hari504504]

That is a shrewd piece of selection..India and Pakistan have sorted out the 'Mendis Code' and he would've gone for plenty, But Herath on the other hand is to the Pakistnais what Kryptonite is to Clarke Kent, he may do a decent job against India too

[Lord]

That is a shrewd piece of selection..India and Pakistan have sorted out the 'Mendis Code' and he would've gone for plenty' date=' But Herath on the other hand is to the Pakistnais what Kryptonite is to Clarke Kent, he may do a decent job against India too[/quote'] agree about Mendis,but i think they should've gone with a younger bowler.Herath is 31.i think Jeevan Mendis is a decent option for 2nd spinner.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Sure,tactically speaking he is useless

[achilles]

Sure' date='tactically speaking he is useless[/quote']

[lonestarranger]

That is a shrewd piece of selection..India and Pakistan have sorted out the 'Mendis Code' and he would've gone for plenty' date=' But Herath on the other hand is to the Pakistnais what Kryptonite is to Clarke Kent, he may do a decent job against India too[/quote'] So the Pakistanis are Supermen? :ohmy: You sir, made my day.

[achilles]

That is a shrewd piece of selection..India and Pakistan have sorted out the 'Mendis Code' and he would've gone for plenty' date=' But Herath on the other hand is to the Pakistnais what Kryptonite is to Clarke Kent, he may do a decent job against India too[/quote'] Since when did Pakistan become trash against spin? :omg:

[hari504504]

Since when did Pakistan become trash against spin? :omg:

LEFT arm spin