by Rex Clementine
in Galle
Every time Sri Lanka play Pakistan, they introduce a teenage prodigy who has played little First-Class cricket, but the rookie takes up to Test cricket like a duck taking to water. In the 1980s it happened with Saleem Malik and Saleem Yousuf. In 1990s, it was Saqlain Mushtaq and Ijaz Ahmed. Since the dawn of the new millennium there have been champion players like Younis Khan, Mohammad Amir, Fawad Alam, Abid Ali.
Each of the players mentioned above made their Test debuts against Sri Lanka and went onto have a major impact in the game. You wonder what’s in store this time? We will have a better idea on Sunday when the first Test between the teams gets underway in Galle.
Sunday will mark the return of Shaheen Afridi to Test cricket. It was last year around this time, ironically at the same ground, the 23-year-old was fielding in the deep and dived to stop a boundary and hurt his knee. It looked like a minor niggle but not so. Not only did he miss the second Test but has been out of Test cricket for a year. He was on 99 Test wickets and with the new ball due was expected to become the 11th Pakistani quick to the milestone, but it has been a long wait.
There’s no better sight in cricket than to see Shaheen charging in from the Dutch Fort End armed with the new ball. You are in awe at the rate Pakistan are producing quality left-arm quicks. It’s as good as the quality chocolates that Kandos put out all too frequently.
Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan is Pakistan’s vice-captain, but he may not get a game on this tour as Sarfraz Ahmed pipped him as Pakistan’s leading stumper.
Sarfraz of course is no stranger to Sri Lanka. In 2006, he skippered Pakistan to the Undre-19 World Cup tittle at RPS beating arch-rivals India in the final. It was a star-studded Indian side comprising Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja. Pakistan had only made 109 but their quicks bowled a couple of unplayable spells to bowl out India for 71 inside 19 overs.
Sarfraz was also the captain of Pakistan when they won the Champions Trophy in England beating India again in 2017. Pakistan were down and out and were almost knocked out of the competition by Sri Lanka in Cardiff but then Thisara Perera at mid-on dropped a dolly, Sarfraz survived and sealed Sri Lanka’s fate. Like Imran Khan, he didn’t quite say ‘we will fight like cornered tigers’, but he got under the skin of Sri Lankans by saying, ‘I’ll remember that dropped catch for the rest of my life and Thisara will remember it for the rest of his life.’
As for Sri Lanka they are a very settled unit. Test cricket is one form of the game where they have been quite steady and were in with a chance to make it to the finals of the World Test Championship.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne was contemplating to quit but kudos to the selectors for convincing him to have another go at the World Test Championship.
The absence of Asitha Fernando has opened up a slot. A selection panel headed by Sidath Wettimuny or Aravinda de Silva that aren’t afraid to take bold decisions would have handed someone like Dilshan Madushanka his Test debut. But the current lot are as conventional as the Vatican and they are unlikely to take the new ball away from Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando.
A few questions have been asked about Ramesh Mendis as he struggled with his lines and lengths during the recent Ireland series. Fellow off-spinner Lakshitha Manasinghe, the former Nalanda College player, has done well in recent months and it remains to be seen whether he makes his Test debut.
Sri Lanka (Probable XI)
Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando.
Pakistan (Probable XI)
Babar Azam (Captain), Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Agha Salman, Abrar Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali or Mohammad Nawaz.
Umpires: Alex Wharf (Eng) and Rod Tucker (Aus)
Television Umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZ)
Match Referee: David Boon (Aus)