Sri Lanka are yet to qualify for the T20 or ODI World Cup, but captain Chamari Athapaththu has already set them a target if they achieve it.
“I will see my team in the semi-finals of the World Cup,” he said after Sri Lanka ended their tour of South Africa with a six-wicket victory in the third ODI. “I’ve worked really hard for the last 15 years and I’ve achieved some things as a player, but as a captain I have to do more. Seeing my team in the semi-finals of this World Cup. That’s my wish. “
It’s only fair to give Athapaththu some leeway to set targets like these, especially after his brilliant 195th that was not eliminated against South Africa on Wednesday night. Not only did she score the third-highest individual score at the women’s ODIs, but she also led Sri Lanka to peak success in this format to highlight her own dominance and the developing pedigree of her national team.
In the last 12 months, Sri Lanka won the T20I series against Bangladesh, England and South Africa and reached the final of the Asian Games. They also won the ODI series against Bangladesh and New Zealand and won a match against South Africa. they are still in contention for automatic qualification for the 2025 ODI World Cup, which Athapaththu will have to do after missing the 2022 tournament. To do so, they will have to triumph against the West Indies, which languish in ninth place among the ten. -Women’s Team Championship standings and Ireland, who are in tenth place. Therefore, Athapaththu has any and all explanations as to why his team can get the trouble they want to finish in the top five, especially after contributions like Nilakshika Silva’s unbeaten 50 against the South. Africa.
Before we turn our attention to the ODI World Cup, we’ll need to think about the T20 edition in Bangladesh later this year. Sri Lanka’s quest to qualify for this occasion begins next week in the United Arab Emirates, where Sri Lanka move on to qualify as favourites. They take the form of nine T20I wins in their last 15 matches and are grouped with Thailand, Scotland, Uganda and the United States, and want to reach the final of the tournament to qualify for the T20 World Cup.
“I know it’s a very big task for us,” Athapaththu said. “Every team is smart and every game is vital for us. We’ll focus on one game at a time. “
The use of the word “we” is vital here. Just ten days ago, Athapaththu dispelled doubts about his overseas career after cryptic Facebook posts warned that the end was near. Prior to the ODI series against South Africa, he showed that he would play in the qualifiers for the T20 World Cup, but indicated that he would make the resolution to retire in the short or long term and that he would also maintain that line after the series.
“My retirement is very close,” he said. I can’t announce any dates, still very soon. We can communicate about those things later. For now, I’m still taking care of women. I’ve put together a young team. One day, as captain, I feel proud of my young men and they play cricket very intelligently. I have sacrificed a lot for Sri Lankan cricket over the past 15 years. I’m a very, very proud captain. I hope my daughters will also play smart cricket in the future. I hope my team can play their most productive cricket at the T20 World Cup.
All indications are that if Sri Lanka qualifies for the tournament in Bangladesh, and maybe even for the ODI World Cup in India next year, Athapaththu will stay, but he is also in the future. While she’s very happy with the good fortune of her rounds in Potchefstroom and accepts congratulations from Sri Lankan cricket greats including Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and her “lifelong superhero” Sanath Jayasuriya, she doesn’t need to be left alone in the sun. “I need to see some other Sri Lankan player beat my score very soon,” he said.
In fact, he considers it imperative that Sri Lankan hitters, in particular, who he believes have improved tremendously, begin to achieve high scores, as he has experienced first-hand the effect this can have on a career. He referred to his previous record (178 steps against Australia at the 2017 ODI World Cup) as his coup as it opened doors for him at the foreign level.
“I’m ranked No. 1,178 because those 178 replaced my cricket career,” he said. “Nobody knew me at the time, however, after scoring 178, I had the opportunity to play franchise cricket and learned a lot in franchise cricket. Some other people think franchise cricket is about money, but I don’t think so. I learned a lot and shared my knowledge. I learned from other players, world-class players, and we shared the same locker room. So, I rate my first race as the 178th, but that race was smart because we chased 302 of them. “