Sri Lanka vs India 2017: Sri Lankan youngsters not doing enough, says Muttiah Muralitharan

What’s the story?

Former Sri Lankan great, Muttiah Muralitharan, blamed underperforming youngsters and an unsettled combination for the recent woes of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He conceded that the loss to Zimbabwe, their first, at home, was a testimony to the fact that they were not playing well.

"We lost in the Zimbabwe series for the first time ever in Sri Lanka that means we're not performing well," Muralitharan told Mid-day. "We have the talent but at the moment a lot of senior players are retired. The younger players are not performing well. Too many are playing and every time the team is changed," he rued.

"India will have a better opportunity than Sri Lanka this time. The wicket there is good for batting in the first two days then it starts to spin... So always who bats first have a better chance of winning," the 45-year-old added when asked about the ongoing Test match.

The context

The Lankan cricket team are going through a transition period at the moment. The retirement of some of their top players like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, among others has left huge, gaping holes in the team, ones that are yet to be filled.

Recently, the team slumped to their first ever ODI series loss to Zimbabwe at home. For the 11th ranked minnows, it was also their first series win away from home in eight years. Following the defeat, Angelo Matthews stepped down as the captain of the team from across all three formats.

The heart of the matter

Muralitharan also felt that Ravichandran Ashwin will have a good match as the wicket suits him. He added that the presence of Ravindra Jadeja would only make matters worse for Sri Lanka during the latter stages of the match.

When asked about Sri Lanka’s stand-in captain Rangana Herath’s performance, Muralitharan said that the wicket did not assist the veteran spinner much. However, he did give credit to the Indian batsmen as well. After all, Herath had given away 159 runs in the first innings and had taken only one wicket.

What’s next?

India is in a very strong position to win the first Test match in Galle. At the time of writing, they have a lead of over 300 runs and more than two days still left to play.

Author’s take

Transition periods are never easy for any team. Only when the youngsters can stand up and deliver, will they be able to help the team. Muralitharan is absolutely right in this context and he is seemingly trying to egg the youngsters on.