In order to objectively deal with Mahela’s suitability for captaincy, we need to see how Mahela stacks up against the essential attributes of a captain.
Firstly, is he qualified? Most definitely he is - he has always demonstrated that he is a ‘thinking’ cricketer. Does he command his team’s respect? Again the answer is yes - we see his team rallying around him all the time. Does he make the right decisions at the right time? Definitely no! A case in point is the recent loss to the West Indians where they had to score 10 runs in 2 balls. He did not make any adjustments before the last two balls were bowled - I believe he thought that the West Indians will never make it. A captain should never think like that. There are countless other examples of Mahela’s inadequacy in this respect. Next – does he lead from the front? Again, no. We will never forget how he threw his wicket away many times in Australia recently, after Sanath got out cheaply. He does not seem to understand that he is not a pinch hitter, and that he is not cut out for hitting his way out of trouble (watching him do the reverse sweep makes me cringe!). His foolishness would have had a great demoralizing effect on the rest of the batters that followed. Does he take calculated risks – he certainly does, especially in test matches where he has declared at the right times and placed his trust on the bowlers to do the needful. One will never forget the days of Hashan Thilekeratne as captain – where he delayed declarations time and time again and then set very defensive fields when there was no chance of loosing!
Another important job of a captain is to be an effective spokesman for the team. He has failed miserably in this. Although his command of the English language has improved dramatically over time, he talks a lot of crap! He statements are so predictable and senseless on many an occasion - his use of catch phrases like ‘coming to the party’, ‘we have many positives to take from this defeat’, ‘bowlers should bowl in the right areas’, etc., etc., are laughable at best. Also, he seems to have a penchant for blaming everyone and everything else for dismal performances rather than admitting to his team’s crappiness and his own faults.
Lastly, a captain should be judged by his team’s performance. In recent times our team seems to have fallen to depths that we have never ever sunk to. We can see how bad we are by examining our last five wins (not to mention our countless defeats). Three of them were against lowly-placed Bangladesh, one was in a shortened game against India where the result could have gone either way, and our last win was against Australia where the outcome did not count for anything – as Australia was already in the finals.
Please don’t get me wrong – Mahela is a great batsman. His countless superb contributions to the team with the bat should never be forgotten. What we are dealing with is his suitability to be the captain.
Our selectors should also take the blame for a lot of the problems we are facing now (this will be another interesting topic for The Island to take up). A case in point is their continuous selection of Sanath until very recently - did they not realize that old and out of form Sanath caused many a defeat simply because his early dismissals always caused our team to collapse – not helped by Mahela’s foolishness in also getting out quickly! We would all like to remember Sanath as one of the greatest cricketers he once was.
So, what is the verdict - sack Mahela from one-day captaincy immediately. I am not sure whether having two captains for the one-day and test teams makes sense. If the choice was mine - I would see how Kumar Sangakkara (see below) handles the one-day team, and if he does a good job, make him the test captain as well. Mahela should play as a batsman as long as he continues to perform. In my opinion his role in the one-day team should be one akin to Asanka Gurusinghe’s (Mr. Ever Reliable!!) where he steadied the innings on many occasions by sensible batting whenever a wicket or two fell early.
The question is who should take over - the obvious choice is Kumar Sangakkara – he seems to have all the right attributes of a captain – if only he drops that false accent of his!!
Sarath Wikramanayake
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Mahela Jayawardena is on the decline
He has harmed his position by his arrogance and the chances of his return to his former self are very bleak.
During the last ODI series in the West Indies he failed as a
captain, as a leader, as a team man and also as a batsman. Mahela Jayawardena has hardly contributed anything substantial to Sri Lanka cricket. His sudden rise to lead the National cricket teams was due not to merit but other extraneous reasons. He was very fortunate indeed that Marvan Atapattu developed a back-pain during. In
appointing Mahela Jayawardena to the coveted position of National cricket captain, several other deserving cricketers who had contributed much more than Mahela Jayawardena to Sri Lanka cricket were over-looked and by-passed.
From the time of his appointment as skipper, Mayela Jayawerdena worked towards his self-preservation. It is no secret that Mahela Jayawardena was instrumental in driving a wedge between the Chairman of Selectors, Ashantha de Mel and Marvan Atapattu, a potential threat to Mahela Jayawardena's position as skipper. Mahela Jayawardena's
reactions when Chaminda Vaaz was appointed vice captain was repulsive and clearly demonstrated the depths of
meanness he could go to when faced with a potential threat to his captaincy. According to several news items appearing in the sports columns of newspapers Mahela Jayawardena was instrumental in dropping
and/or chopping that great cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya from the last disastrous ODI series away from home in the West Indies. During the last World Cup series in the West Indies, Mahela Jayawardena abundantly
displayed his selfish attitude in more less compelling Marvan Atapattu to carry water to the playing field. Had it not been for such misdeeds of Mahela Jayawardena and his meek approach towards his counterparts, Sri
Lanka could have easily brought the World Cup home.
The recent trend has been for any cricketer of the National team to be dropped if he faced a bad-patch. That principle never applied to Mahela Jayawardena. The recent ODI series in the West Indies, where Mahela Jayawardena not only failed as a captain, but also as a batsman was an eye-opener.
In these circumstances, it is my firm conviction that Mahela Jayawardena should be axed from the captaincy and should also be dropped from the team. Players of the calibre of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas, who have immensely contributed to Sri Lanka cricket and whose unstinted efforts had put Sri Lanka on the world map, should be given a chance to lead the National cricket team, before they hang up their boots.
T. Sugathadasa
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Mahela needs a reminder about his duties
Captaincy is no sinecure. Mahela has acquitted himself well as a leader and shown he is a respected leader. He can express himself much better than most of his predecessors. He and Kumar are held in high esteem by knowledgeable Australians both on and off the field.
Mahela has been correct in giving youth a chance at the expense of Sanath and Marvan (however, Marvan should have been given a chance in the World Cup), and obviously If his choices acquit themselves well and good or else he is at the butt end of criticism. However, he should not think he is infallible and his selections are questionable at times. A captain knows his team more than the selectors but that does not mean he should ride roughshod on them. Much as he should be given a free hand, he must realise that there is a limit and he should not be given too much power.
Of late, he has faced a lot of pressure and has erred and should accept responsibility.
1) A glaring instance is that last ball six. He should have instructed Vaas to bowl on the off side for that last ball especially knowing Chanderpaul is weak need and has a light frame.
2) Vaas of late has performed woefully in the last overs and should not have been given that last over. In batting, Vaas sometimes shows disinterest.
3) Upul Tharanga, though he scored in his last match, was too slow and this cost us the match.
Due to a few seniors being rested, Udawatte, Weeraratne and Mendis were discovered.
Rumours there will always be like the Vaas vice captaincy issue and favourable treatment for Mubarak, and Welegedera not being selected lest he usurps another influential player.
On face value, we were unlucky to lose but we had many positives nonetheless.
Let sanity prevail and let’s not make changes for the sake of making changes and Mahela is worth being retained with the captaincy but he should know not to abuse his role.
Ranjan Rodrigo,
Sydney.
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No need to axe Mahela
No, there is no need to axe Jayawardene and install Sangakkara in his place. They do not seem motivated in the same manner that Arjuna and Aravinda were motivated.
Even Vaas seems jaded. Why not give them a rest and field a young team led by Dilshan and supported by Chamara Silva and the other youngsters?
India did something like this and the results are there for all to see. The three seniors can be made expert commentators and spokespersons for Sri Lanka Cricket.
Lakshman Perera,
Kurunegala
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Not captain but batsman
My opinion is that Mahela should be retained not as captain, but as a batsman, as he can perform well.
I can remember Tendulkar’s failure due leadership responsibilities.
Channa Pathirana
