India pull out puts Sri Lanka in sight of SAG cricket gold

By Desmond Samith

Sri Lanka Under-21 cricketers captained by Ashan Priyanjana are in with a realistic chance of winning the gold on offer at the 11th South Asian Games cricket championship as India will not be taking part.
The inaugural Twenty20 tournament will be held in Bangladesh from January 31 to February 7.
With the eleventh hour pull out of India and Afghanistan last week, the organisers have rescheduled the tournament – bringing it forward by a couple of days and erasing the original two groups of ‘A’ and ‘B’.
Now a round-robin league will be played between the five participating teams – Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives. Top two teams will vie for the gold medal while third and fourth-placed team will play for bronze.
The matches will be played at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium and Mirpur Shahid Kamruzzaman Stadium, Rajshahi.
Earlier Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) refused to send the team to Bangladesh for financial reasons. But after a meeting with the Pakistan Olympic Committee officials, PCB has decided to send the team.
Sri Lanka field almost the same team which played in the Under-19 World Cup 2008 in Malaysia. Since then the players have turned up for their respective clubs in addition to playing in the Development squad with a recent tour of New Zealand to boot.
The team is strengthened with the presence of Sri Lanka’s newfound hero, hard-hitting batsman Thisara Perera, whose brand of cricket is tailor-made for T-20s. Top order batsmen Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal too must be in buoyant mood after being called to play in the senior league.
Sri Lanka U-21 team for 11th SAG: Ashan Priyanjana (Captain), Dinesh Chandimal (V Captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne, Sachith Pathirana, Naveen Kavikara, Vimanga Perera, Iresh Udayanga, N Mazahir, Angelo Perera, Thisara Perera, Chathuranga Silva, Ishan Jayaratne, Hasitha Ilangaratne.
Sri Lanka’s match schedule:
Feb 1 – vs Nepal
Feb 2 – vs Bangladesh
Feb 4 – vs Pakistan
Feb 5 – vs Maldives