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Sri Lankan Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe appointed a four-member technical committee last week to probe Sri Lanka’s failure to qualify for the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023. The Technical Committee is headed by veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, which also includes three other ex-national players. The committee is said to investigate the reason behind Sri Lanka’s below par performance in the ODI format in the last couple of years.
"We will ask the coaching management the reasons for not winning the automatic qualification. They must also give us a short term plan to improve things. These are a talented bunch of players and they should be given the necessary confidence,” Sanath Jayasuriya told the reporters.
This has been the first time that Sri Lanka has failed to qualify for the prestigious ODI Cricket World Cup since its inception in 1975. Sri Lanka is also one of the few countries to have won the World Cup. Sanath Jayasuriya was the player of the tournament when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996.
Sri Lanka’s chances for direct qualification were diminished when they lost the three match ODI series against New Zealand in New Zealand 2-0. Consequently, they failed to move up to the eighth spot in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League table. Hence, Sri Lanka will have to participate in the ICC’s qualifying tournament from June 18 to July 9 this year, to give one more try for the marquee event. Sri Lanka will be contesting for a place alongside West Indies and Zimbabwe and also with either South Africa or Ireland in the qualifiers.
