After a succession of resignations the Sri Lankan Cricket Board is on the lookout for replacements at the helm of national cricket.
In this regard the Board has announced a new selection panel that is headed by former captain and manager, Duleep Mendis.
The veteran is of the opinion that a new team needs to be prepared for the next World Cup and the 2011 finalists would have to be on the look-out from now and build towards their long term goals.
However, there are some imminent challenges that need to be dealt with. The Lankans have two big Test series scheduled this year. They are to take on England in their backyard in a three Test match series, which would be followed by a duel at home against Australia.
For the moment no major overhaul is expected for the two assignments, yet Mendis stated that work for the long term goals needs to start now.
"Rebuilding is going to be the key in the coming months", Mendis said. "Some things may not work, some tactics may pay off".
The amiable former batsman, who was touted as the best Sri Lankan talent in his playing days in the early and mid-eighties has been asked to head a strong selection panel that has four former international cricketers besides him, the panel includes Brendon Kuruppu, Don Arunasiri, Ranjith Madurasinghe, and, Chaminda Mendis.
The biggest hole in the scheme of things would be the absence of spin king, Muttiah Muralitharan, the man from Kandy, who amassed a staggering tally of more than 1300 international wickets, has quit all formats of the game.
On the other hand, the outgoing T20 and One Day International (ODI) captain, Kumar Sangakkara, and his deputy former captain, Mahela Jayawardene, are both aged 33.
There are no guarantees about the long term future of opening batsman, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is 34.
Besides senior players retiring, another major worry is the right-arm pacer, Lasith Malinga, who is the best fast bowler in the country. He already has had an injury plagued career and has claimed that he will not be around for the next World Cup.
In such a scenario the new selection panel would have to spend considerable time keeping a close watch on players, who take part in the domestic first class, and, limited overs competitions.
Mendis thinks that to build for the 2015 World Cup, Sri Lanka, had to set some important goals, as they needed to have players from junior squads become a part of the plans.
"Right now, the A team is the most important feeder mechanism for the main team. Our job in the months ahead is to scout for talent to replace some of the older players as we face several tours in the coming months. Our cricket calendar is full in the coming months, but our task is also to build a pool to face the 2015 World Cup”.
The tour to England is the first international assignment for the team after their World Cup final run. The tour starts in May, 2011, while the Australians are set to tour in July and August later in the year.
Meanwhile, some of the leading players, who are to don national colours, for these series are presently part of the grueling Indian Premier League. Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene are leading two of the teams, while Dilshan and Malinga are also pivotal players for their teams in the lucrative 10 team cricket bonanza that would run till the end of May.
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