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Three years ago, Mahela Jayawardene retired, leaving a deep hole in Lankan team

New Delhi: Three years ago, on this day – August 18, Mahela Jayawardene played his last Test match. It is interesting that it was almost the last time that Sri Lanka played like a genuine, strong Test match team. It was a series against Pakistan (and played in Sri Lanka), that the hosts not only won but won comprehensively, winning 2-0 in the two-match series.

But since then, Sri Lanka have not been able to produce a similar comprehensive performance. Sri Lanka have since then played as many as 12 Test series’. They have had seven losses and four wins. They have beaten Australia, West Indies and Zimbabwe (twice).

But dissection of these wins will suggest that none of them have been strong wins considering that West Indies and Zimbabwe have been very weak themselves and Australia were in a rebuilding phase when they lost to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.

What did not help was that Kumar Sangakkara retired exactly a year after Jayawardene, leaving as big a hole in the fortunes of Sri Lankan cricket. Since then, Sri Lanka have found it even difficult at home as seen in the recent Test series against India when they were blanked 3-0. Worse there does not seem much of a sign that the tide will change. 

Source: Zee News