Accountability without freedom doesn’t add up – Hathurusingha
Chandika Hathurusingha-July 3, 2019, 12:00 pm
Rex Clementine in Leeds
At school, you know that the last two periods are free but you are not allowed to go home early. You have got to stay till the last bell at 1:30. Sri Lankan cricket team is doing the same thing in England right now. They are just going through the motions in the World Cup. Their campaign is over, but for formalities sake, they have got to complete their obligations. Dead rubbers are always tough like free periods.
After a disastrous campaign, Francois Du Plessis and Ottis Gibson find their jobs in line. Cricket South Africa wouldn’t take this performance lying down. What’s in store for Chandika Hathurusingha and Dimuth Karunaratne? It’s the first time the Sri Lankans failed to make it to the second round of the World Cup since 1999. Roy Dias and Arjuna Ranatunga, the coach and captain respectively, got the axe and even the Board of Control for Cricket was dissolved.
Hathurusingha is not prepared to throw in the towel. He is contracted with Sri Lanka Cricket until December 2019 and he wants to see through his contract. Not that he wouldn’t be able to find a job. Highly respected in Australia, where he resides now, there have been positive vibes from the Australian cricketing fraternity about his credentials.
Is his future with Sri Lanka Cricket bleak? "It looks okay. I don’t assume until things happens. I haven’t heard from people who matter. For me the important thing is to plan for the next series and I have already done that," remarked Hathurusingha.
Sri Lanka could possibly end sixth in the points table in this World Cup campaign. There’s disappointment at home that they didn’t make the semis but for a team that came into the competition ranked ninth, it’s not a bad outcome. But then, it’s the first time since 1999, they have not gone beyond the first round.
"You can be accountable when you have a say in things. You cannot be held accountable for someone else’s decision," Hathurusingha said.
Despite the team blowing hot and cold lead up to the World Cup, Hathurusingha kept reminding not to lose hope. He claimed that the World Cup was a different ball game and was confident that they could make the semis at least. Should SLC backed his instincts given his proven track record?
He joined SLC on the condition that he will have a say in selections. Less than half-way through his contract, his role as a selector was taken away from him. Hence he raises the pertinent question whether he should be held accountable for decisions beyond his means?
"The present role I am having, I can contribute to the development of players," he added.
"I am very disappointed that we could not finish among last four. My focus from the start was to get into last four and take it from there. We planned a lot and lot of things happened in between. Still, I tried to end up among the top four with resources I had but that didn’t happen," he says.
During his tenure, he seemed to have burned the bridges with a few people. He may have not been solely responsible for the sacking of Angelo Mathews in September last year, but in public, it came out as the captain and coach weren’t seeing eye to eye. The two seem to have moved on. It was a gamble to go with five bowlers against free scoring West Indies. During the run chase, they were exposed as they had run out of a bowling option to send down two overs. Then, Angelo Mathews volunteered.
"That was actually Angelo’s initiative. The decision was taken by him in the middle. He came back and put the bowling shoes on. It was a great initiative on his part. He risked his body deciding to bowl. He hadn’t bowled since December, not even in the nets. It was a huge call by him."
Like everyone, he too is disappointed that Kusal Mendis didn’t get going. The 24-year-old looked in fine nick at certain stages of the tournament but failed to score even a single half-century after six outings.
"We all get disappointed due to the potential he is showing. He is maturing quickly though. I chat to him frequently on building an innings and going through phases. You have to also understand that he is taking lot of burden for the team. We don’t have experienced batters like it was the cases in the past. The most experienced that we have is Angelo. Earlier people like Kumar, Mahela and Dilshan handled the mentally tricky period. That Kusal is not matured to handle at the moment, but his time will come."
