Afghanistan deserve more
opportunities, says Jayawardene
Sri Lanka will benefit from being tested at the World Cup by an Afghanistan side deserving of more opportunities, says Mahela Jayawardene.
Mahela Jayawardene has reiterated his
disagreement with the decision to reduce the
number of teams competing at the next ICC
World Cup, after Associate nation Afghanistan
gave Sri Lanka a scare in Dunedin on Sunday.
Jayawardene’s 19th one-day international
hundred ultimately proved crucial as Sri Lanka recovered from a dismal start to their chase, which saw both openers depart for golden ducks, to chase down 233 for the loss of six wickets.
Afghanistan’s pacemen were particularly
impressive, while Asghar Stanikzai top-scored
with 54 for the underdogs as they set a
competitive target.
However, with only 10 teams set to feature in the 2019 World Cup – as opposed to 14 this
year – Afghanistan face a stiff challenge to
qualify for the next edition of the showpiece.
Sri Lanka did not have Test status when they
were given the chance to participate in the
inaugural World Cup in 1975 and Jayawardene
– a veteran of 647 international appearances. – feels Associate nations should be given more opportunities to impress.
Asked if he backed the International Cricket
Council’s decision to stage a 10-team World
Cup, Jayawardene said: “When I was asked
that question a couple of years ago I said no
to that, because I think Sri Lanka got that
same opportunity in ’75 as an Associate
member.
“If we hadn’t had that opportunity, we
probably wouldn’t have been here so I think
it’s important that we nurture and we look
after these Associate members.
“They are playing some good cricket, give
them the opportunity they deserve. The more cricket those guys play, the more international cricket, I think they will develop as a team – not only Afghanistan, but a lot of the other Associate teams.”
Jayawardene acknowledged that Sri Lanka were pushed all the way by Afghanistan,
and welcomed the challenge.
“I think for us to play a tough match like that
is probably a good thing in this tournament,”
added the 37-year-old. “There are areas which we need to improve and hopefully we can make sure that we improve those areas going forward.
“They’re a very good team. We can’t take any
team lightly. It’s a tough competition. It’s
important that we keep improving.
“It’ll be good for us going into the
tournament. We know if we are in a similar
situation how we need to handle that.”
New Nepal 