Former Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene backed the island nation to make it to the semifinals in the World Cup despite their recent patchy form. He counted upon their past performances in the mega event for his belief.
“I was trying to get my head around this, 4-5 wins gets you a semifinal berth, so Sri Lanka is looking at that option and will try to execute it each game at a time,” Jayawardene said on the sidelines of the ICC World Cup opening ceremony in London on Wednesday evening.
“I still feel they’ve got a very very good chance, form is not there but if they find that, it’ll be fantastic for them,” he added.
A part of the team that were runners-up in the 2007 edition and leading them all the way into the 2011 finals, Jayawardene counted upon the Sri Lanka unit to rise to the occasion.
“Sri Lanka always finds a way to do well in world cups. Yes there have been some changes to the setup, the captain (Dimuth Karunaratne) himself being one. He hasn’t played ODI cricket for a while but is a wonderful player,” the Mumbai Indians head coach said.
“They’re trying to bring some stability in the group, but there is still exciting talent in the team, and there are match winners in the unit. As long as the setup is there for them to go out and enjoy themselves and do well, they can beat teams.” Jayawardene added.
England will be entering the tournament as favorites to win the World Cup. Jayawardene felt that the hosts will have to be really consistent to win the title.
“Over a six-week period, nine matches plus the playoffs. Can they be consistent? We’ll have to wait and see. As long as they can put the weight of expectations to the side, and as a team enjoy the cricket that they play, they do have a very very good chance,” he said.
From getting knocked out early from the 2015 World Cup by Bangladesh to becoming the No.1 ranked ODI side, the Englishmen’s transformation in the one-day format has been incredible.
“The brand of cricket that they played in the last two years, along with the group that they had, yes they are one of the favourites. But it’s a world cup, you still have to go and execute”, the 42 year old said.
Praising the in-form England opening batsmen Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow, he said, “They have a solid batting line up and have players that understand situations and can handle pressure. That gives those two guys at the top the freedom to go out and play that sort of a game.”
