Sri Lanka<\/a> Cricket had informed the BCCI that its players will be available for the IPL only after April 8, as the Lankans will be touring New Zealand for white-ball series till then. \u201cThe Lankan players aren\u2019t available till the second week of the IPL. This is a major reason why they (there were around 10 Lankan players in the auction) weren\u2019t sold this time. He might get taken as a replacement player (for an injured player) by someone. Let\u2019s see,\u201d a franchise official tells TOI.
Another franchise official pointed out that Shanaka\u2019s stupendous streak against India is only a recent phenomenon. In 84 T20Is, he has scored 1305 runs at a modest average of 21.39, with 5 fifties-numbers that actually don\u2019t do justice to his enormous potential. The fact that he has taken just 23 wickets@22.08 (14 of them are against India!), doesn\u2019t support his case as a world-class all-rounder. For someone who started off as a proper allrounder, Shanka has ignored his howling of late-he has bowled just one over in this series, in the second T20I at Pune, in which he took 2 wickets. <\/p>\n\u201cHis finisher\u2019s role has evolved fairly recently. Also, when one picks foreigners, they might look at multi-skilled players and I don\u2019t think his bowling would classify him as an all-rounder. Also, if you look at his stats in T20Is, his strike rate is merely 121.62. So, teams may not have prioritized (buying him). But lately, he has done very well to reinvent himself as a finisher, so there could be more interest,\u201d he points out.
Much to Shanaka\u2019s bad luck, amongst those who haven\u2019t bid for him are Lanka\u2019s cricket greats Mahela Jayawardene (former Mumbai Indians coach) and Kumar Sangakkara (Rajasthan Royals\u2019 director of cricket).
Shanaka hails from a place called Negombo, which is just 10 minutes from the Colombo airport. \u201cWhile most of the established Sri Lankan cricketers have moved out to the city, or they prefer staying close to the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo, he has continued to stay in his village. He studied at Maris Stella, which is a reputed school, but it\u2019s not known for producing many cricketers, and is more into basketball and athletics. He and (Dushmantha) Chameera are the only cricketers it has produced,\u201d says someone who has followed Sri Lankan cricket for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very simple, humble person, who keeps quiet most of the time. He has no \u2018blackmarks\u2019 against him, which is rare for modern-day Sri Lankan cricketers. He isn\u2019t tactically a brilliant captain, but he keeps the side together, helps them stay focused, backs them, and is a very good communicator,\u201d he praises.
\u201cHe has been able to identify players and give them clear roles, which helps him get the most out of them. For example, when he came in, Wanindu Hasaranga was batting at No 3. He played him at No 5, assuring him that he wouldn\u2019t be dropped due to a few failures, and that\u2019s showing the results. Similarly, he asked Kusal Mendis to keep wickets. Mendis wasn\u2019t very keen to do the glovework, as that would be additional responsibility on him. However, that move helped the balance of the side immensely, and we could play an additional bowler,\u201d he analyses. <\/div>\n