da 888： Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Chandika Hathurusingha was recalled to thenational squad by the cricket selectors on Friday to bolster the team’ssagging middle order.
Sa'adi Thawfeeq29-Jun-2001Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Chandika Hathurusingha was recalled to thenational squad by the cricket selectors on Friday to bolster the team’ssagging middle order.The squad is presently training to meet India and New Zealand in a one-daytriangular commencing next month and India in a three-Test series in August.Also added to the squad whose total strength has now been expanded to 26,are Sri Lanka ‘A’ team players – batsman Avishka Gunawardana and fastbowlers Ruchira Perera and Dinusha Fernando.Hathurusingha joins two other experienced batsmen in the squad, Aravinda deSilva and Hashan Tillakaratne in an attempt to strengthen the vulnerableSri Lanka middle-order.His inclusion once again emphasises the fact that the younger players ofwhom a lot was expected have failed to deliver. The recently concludedthree-Test unofficial series against Pakistan ‘A’ didn’t bring forth thedesired results with Chamara Silva, Indika de Saram, Tillekeratne Dilshanand to some extent, Kumar Sangakkara all failing to fulfil the faith laidon them by the selectors.The 32-year-old Hathurusingha, was last recalled to the national team forthe 1999 World Cup tournament in England. In fact, this is the fourth timein his career he has been recalled to pull the national team out of acrisis.He has represented Sri Lanka in 26 Tests scoring 1274 runs (avg. 29.62)with 83 as the highest of his eight fifties, and taken 17 wickets at 46.41apiece.Hathurusingha, who began his international career as an opening batsman wasfirst dropped from the national team after South African fast bowler AllanDonald virtually ended his career by taking his wicket on seven out ofeight occasions in the Test and one-day series played at home in 1993.He was recalled to the team again in 1995 where he went on the tours toPakistan and Australia, but was dropped once more for the 1996 World Cupwhich Sri Lanka won.Two years later Hathurusingha was again recalled for the 1998 tour toEngland following a splendid domestic season with Moors SC where he won the’Man of the Tournament’ award. But soon after the tour he was dropped andwas again recalled for the 1999 World Cup in England.Hathurusingha gets his fourth recall to the national squad on the strengthof his all-round performance for Sampath Bank in the recently concludedMercantile ‘A’ division tournament where he won the ‘Most Valuable Playerof the Tournament’ award.For the past three years, Hathurusingha has batted in the middle-order forMoors SC and his company and, turned in some fine performances with bothbat and ball, bowling at right-arm gentle medium-pace.He missed the early part of the 2000-01 Premier domestic season for MoorsSC as he was playing for Prahan in the Australian district. He returned intime for the Plate championships and helped Moors SC finish runner-up toSebastianites scoring 217 runs (avg. 31.00) from five games and taking ninewickets (avg. 30.22).