News Analysis India

Tag: Wanindu Hasaranga

  • Blame Game In Sri Lanka Camp After Defeat Against South Africa, Captain Wanindu Hasaranga Slam ICC For Unfair Scheduling | Cricket News

    In the opening clash of Group D at the T20 World Cup 2024, Sri Lanka’s roaring Lions were tamed by South Africa’s fearsome Proteas on the unpredictable pitches of New York. The 6-wicket defeat was compounded by the logistical turmoil the Sri Lankan squad has endured, hopping across four different venues in the United States for their first round matches.

    Also Read: MS Dhoni’s Exotic Vacation After IPL 2024 With Wife Sakshi & Daughter Ziva – In Pics

    Unfair scheduling woes

    “It’s really unfair for us,” veteran spinner Mahesh Theekshana lamented after the loss. The hectic travel schedule saw the team wait 8 hours at the Miami airport before an overnight flight, arriving just hours before their World Cup opener against the formidable South Africans.

    Captain Wanindu Hasaranga echoed the concerns, “We can’t say that [the scheduling] didn’t affect our performance. All four games in four different venues are really hard. We don’t know the conditions in Dallas or Florida yet.”

    Toss Gamble on Tough Pitch

    Unsure of the pitch conditions at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, Hasaranga rolled the dice at the toss, opting to bat first and backing his bowling attack to defend a total. However, the two-paced surface proved highly challenging.

    “We thought we could set a good score and let our bowlers go to work, as that’s been our strength recently,” the captain explained. “But the target of 77 was just not enough in the end.” Though the pacers gave a gritty effort, the modest total ultimately proved inadequate against South Africa’s deep batting line-up.

    Spinning Surprises

    One surprising selection raised eyebrows, as the experienced Dushmantha Chameera was overlooked for young Nuwan Thushara. Hasaranga revealed the IPL performances influenced the choice: “Nuwan had 5 wickets in his last T20I, and joined us after the IPL, while Chameera didn’t play there recently.”

    The varied bounce posed problems, but Sri Lanka’s spin trio of Hasaranga, Theekshana and Jayawickrama created some nervy moments before South Africa steadied the chase.

    Second Life in Dallas

    Though the Lions stumbled out of the gate, all is not lost yet in the T20 World Cup. Sri Lanka gets another chance to roar when they take on Bangladesh this Saturday in Dallas.

    Hasaranga vowed his men will regroup and learn from this early setback. “We identified where we went wrong today,” he stated. “We’ll need to adjust quicker to the conditions and put our best game forward against Bangladesh.”

    With their fearsome bowling attack, guided by seasoned veterans like Theekshana, Sri Lanka undoubtedly possesses the talent to recover from this early tournament hiccup. But avoiding another logistical nightmare may prove just as vital to steadying their World Cup campaign.

  • RCB release Hasaranga, Chameera from bio-bubble to join Sri Lanka for T20 World Cup qualifiers

    By PTI

    DUBAI: Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday released all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga and pacer Dushmantha Chameera from the team’s bio-bubble to join the Sri Lankan squad ahead of its T20 World Cup qualifiers next week.

    Hasaranga and Chameera were roped in as replacement players for Australians Adam Zampa and Daniel Sams by the franchise ahead of the second leg of the ongoing season.

    While Hasaranga featured in two matches, Chameera was not picked in the playing XI for any of the games.

    The duo will miss RCB’s Eliminator against Kolkata Knight Riders in Sharjah on Monday.

    “Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera have been released from the RCB bio bubble as they join up with the SL team for their #WT20 qualifiers.

    “We wish both of them the best & thank them for their professionalism & hard work during #IPL2021,” RCB tweeted.

    Sri Lanka are part of Group A and will begin their WT20 campaign against Namibia on October 18 in Abu Dhabi.

  • IPL 2021: Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera issued NOC from SLC to take part in UAE leg

    By ANI

    COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Sunday announced that permission has been granted to Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga to take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have roped in Sri Lanka’s Hasaranga and Chameera as replacements for Adam Zampa and Daniel Sams respectively for the 14th edition of IPL.

    “The permission for the players was granted by the SLC in consultation with the Technical Advisory Committee,” SLC said in a statement.

    “The ‘No Objection Certificate’ to the duo was issued for them to join the IPL teams starting from 15th September (following the completion of the South Africa Tour of Sri Lanka),” it added.

    SLC said the two players will join the Sri Lanka squad on October 10 to play in the two warm-up games prior to the ICC men’s T20 World Cup qualifiers.

    The 14th season, which was postponed in May this year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume on September 19 in Dubai with a blockbuster clash between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians.

    The action will shift to Abu Dhabi where Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

    Sharjah will host its first game on September 24 when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings. In all, 13 matches will be held in Dubai, 10 in Sharjah, and 8 in Abu Dhabi.

  • Wanindu Hasaranga has been on our radar for a long time: RCB head coach Mike Hesson

    By ANI

    BENGALURU: Ahead of the resumption of Season 14 of the IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Mike Hesson on Saturday stated that Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga who replaced Adam Zampa was on the team’s radar for a long time.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Simon Katich has stepped down as head coach of the IPL side due to personal reasons and as part of the team’s business continuity plan, Mike Hesson will step in and discharge the duties of head coach for this season, in addition to his existing role of Director of Cricket Operations.

    “As a team RCB started the first half of the season well. We gained plenty of momentum and will certainly continue that progress in the season and a half. We are in a decent position but we also know that we have plenty of work to do,” Mike Hesson said in a virtual press briefing.

    Sri Lankan all-rounder Wanidu Hasaranga will now be part of RCB for the second leg of IPL 2021 in UAE. He replaced Adam Zampa. Hasaranga was the Player of the Series in the recently concluded Sri Lanka-India T20I series taking 7 wickets in 3 matches at an economy rate of 5.58.

    Talking about Hasaranga, Hesson said: “We have an extensive scouting program, Wanidu has been on our radar for a long time. We aren’t surprised by his success in recent times, he has been doing it for a while. We like his skill set. We like the fact that he is a multi-skill cricketer, so he offers us the ability to bat a little bit deeper as well. That gives us a lot of exciting options.”

    Rajesh Menon, Vice President and Head, Royal Challengers Bangalore talking about bubble protocol for RCB pointed: “In terms of bubble protocol we have a very tight protocol which is in place. This seven-day quarantine itself is what we have placed. The entire hotel staff, drivers are tested, everybody is part of the bubble. So it’s a complete secure bubble that we are getting into.”

    As IPL again goes to the UAE, Hesson shed some light on the team’s advantage. He said, “There are players on both sides who have played in that condition a year ago. We have got some good memories of the last time we were there. We made the playoffs, we played nicely.”

    Another Sri Lankan, Dushmantha Chameera also confirmed his place in the Banglore side. The fast bowler replaces Daniel Sams. Tim David who is no stranger to the T20 format replaced Finn Allen at RCB for the remainder of the season. After tasting success in T20 leagues around the world, the hard-hitting batsman and handy bowler will now test his skills in IPL.

    The Indian players, support staff and the team management will be assembling in Bengaluru on Saturday following which the team will undergo 7 days of quarantine and will undergo Covid tests for 3 days during the period. The team will then depart via a chartered flight from Bangalore on August 29. The other international players and staff will assemble in the UAE starting August 29 onwards. There will be another 6 days of quarantine in the UAE.

    Royal Challengers Bangalore resume Season 14 of the IPL on September 20 as they square off against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

  • IPL 2021: RCB pleased to have ‘multi-skilled’ Hasaranga as Chahal’s spin partner

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: Royal Challengers Bangalore have been forced into making some big changes before the resumption of the IPL 2021 in UAE from September 19 in the UAE. Simon Katich has stepped down as the head coach due to personal reasons and Mike Hesson, director of cricket, will assume the role till the end of the season.

    Also, New Zealand’s Finn Allen and Scott Kuggeleijn have been selected for the national team, making them miss the league. Australia’s Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson and Adam Zampa have made themselves unavailable. Australia’s Tim David, Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera and Wanindu Hasaranga are the new faces in the squad so far.

    The inclusion of Hasaranga, who replaces Adam Zampa, seems to be a good choice considering that the leg-spinner scalped nine wickets in the last T20I series against India. With the conditions in the UAE expected to assist the spinners, the Lankan alongside Yuzvendra Chahal could be a big plus. More importantly, he can also contribute with the bat, believes Hesson.

    “Wanindu has certainly been on our radar for a long time. We are not surprised by his success in recent times, he has been doing it for a while now. We like his skill set. He is a multi-skilled cricketer so he offers us to play a little bit deeper as well, if we choose him as the overseas spinner alongside Chahal. The fact that performed well against India in recent times is great too,” said Hesson.

    The Indian players, minus the Test players in England, have already started assembling in Bengaluru. During the seven days of quarantine in the city, they will be tested for COVID-19 three times. They will depart on August 29 in a chartered plane and will be in hard quarantine for another six days in UAE. Meanwhile the foreign players will gradually reach from August 29 onwards.

    With new overseas players in the squad, it remains to be seen as to how much time these players take to gel with the rest of their teammates. It is imperative for them to find their rhythm as soon as possible as they will be eager to continue that winning momentum which they had gathered before the IPL was cancelled midway due to the COVID-19 situation. They are currently third in the table with five wins from seven games.

    “We have got a number of players that have been in good form since the IPL. Some have had well deserved rest. But, the time in Dubai will be critical for those who have not played a huge amount of cricket to get them up to speed and for those who have, it is just a matter of quick integration back into their role in the side. It will not be difficult as they are professionals and we are a very determined side,” said Hesson.