At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, Sri Lanka will open its 2023 World Cup campaign against South Africa on October 7. Due to its diminishing record in International Cricket Council (ICC) competitions, expectations for the island squad are not high for the forthcoming World Cup. However, the major competition will be contested in India, where the conditions are practically identical to those of Sri Lanka.
When the World Cup was held in 1996, it was in subcontinental conditions, and the Lankan Lions won it for the first time and only time. Sri Lanka wasn’t expected to win the championship going into that match, but Arjuna Ranatunga guided his team to victory with an outstanding performance.
They intend to emulate their success at the 1996 World Cup, which Dasun Shanaka oversaw. Let’s assess the 1996 champions’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) before talking about their possibilities in the upcoming competition.
Strengths of the Sri Lanka cricket team for the 2023 World Cup are listed below in the SWOT analysis.
Excellent spinners from Sri Lanka have a good chance of winning matches in the next competition. Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage, and Dhananjaya de Silva will attempt to wreck havoc on batsmen with their extraordinary bowling prowess on India’s turning tracks.
Theekshana, who will be in charge of the spin unit, has taken 23 wickets in 19 ODIs played on sub-continental surfaces. Wellalage has played all 15 of his one-day internationals in Asian conditions and has a 5.18 economy rate while taking 19 wickets. The left-arm spinner finished the Asia Cup 2023 tied for the most wickets with Mohammed Siraj of India, with 10 in six ODIs for an economy rate of 4.26. Wellalage’s strong performance leading up to the World Cup is encouraging for the Sri Lankan team.
Theekshana and Wellalage may receive assistance from Dhananjaya de Silva, whose one-day bowling statistics are also respectable. The right-arm off-spinner has a 4.95 economy rate and 44 wickets in 67 innings of 82 one-day matches.
Weaknesses
the lack of important stalwarts
In Sri Lanka’s 15-member roster for the ODI World Cup 2023, Wanindu Hasaranga, a crucial player, is not present. During his time playing for B-Love Kandy in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), Hasaranga sustained a hamstring injury. Due to the strain, the great spinner missed the 2023 Asia Cup, but it was anticipated that she would heal in time for the World Cup that would be played in India.
The 26-year-old was not included in the team, nevertheless, since he was unable to fully recuperate from the injury. In 48 games, the leg-break bowler has 67 wickets, good for an economy rate of 5.07 over the course of his one-day career. Hasaranga, Wellalage, and Theekshana might have created an incredible spin attack for his squad in the next competition.
As he took 19 wickets in 10 matches for Kandy in the Lanka Premier League (LPL 2023), the leggie appeared to be in fantastic form. Given Hasaranga’s current performance and stellar track record, Sri Lankan fans are devastated that their team’s bowling hero won’t play in the eagerly anticipated ODI competition taking place in India.
In addition to Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera won’t be available to Sri Lanka for the 2023 World Cup. ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe resulted in a muscular injury for Chameera, who has 50 wickets in 44 ODIs. The speedster had healed from the strain, but during the LPL 2023, he injured himself once more.
Opportunities
Given that the 2023 World Cup will be played in India, Sri Lanka can put on a spectacular performance. The conditions are familiar to the 1996 champion team because Sri Lanka and India share a similar climate. They have an exceptional World Cup record in sub-continental conditions.
Under Ranatunga’s captaincy, they won every game and the championship in the 1996 edition. Sri Lanka won the championship by defeating top teams including Australia, the West Indies, India, and England by taking advantage of the benign playing circumstances. In 2011, the World Cup made its way back to Asia. Under the leadership of Kumar Sangakkara, they performed well this time, and they advanced to the championship.
They finished their journey as the runners-up after losing to India on D-Day at the Wankhede Stadium. Cricket fans were impressed by Sri Lanka’s performance in the competition despite the fact that they came near but fell short. The World Cup performance of Sri Lanka in subcontinental circumstances will boost their confidence going into the upcoming ODI match.
Threats Since 2015, ICC tournaments have a terrible track record.
After winning the 2014 T20 World Cup, Sri Lankan performances in ICC competitions have fallen short of expectations. Since the 2014 T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka has failed to get to the knockout stages of any ICC competition. Things won’t be simple for Shanaka and his team in the forthcoming competitions because they will need to maintain consistency throughout the event to bring home the trophy.
lack of exceptional abilities
On paper and in terms of experience, strong teams like India and England appear to be formidable opponents for Sri Lanka. 11 players from Sri Lanka’s 15-person ODI World Cup squad will be making their World Cup debuts this time around. The team’s captain, Dasun Shanaka, will also be one of the athletes competing in the ODI World Cup for the first time. There is no denying the talent of Sri Lanka’s players, but it would be difficult for them to maintain their composure as a team against the powerhouses. They won’t be able to affect the competition with their own performances.
India
