Tillakaratne tipped to retain captaincy

The Sri Lankan selectors are expected to name a 20-man training squad, and decide on the captaincy for Australia's tour of Sri Lanka by mid-January. Australia are due to play five one-dayers and three Test matches during a six-week tour in February and March.

According to Lalith Kaluperuma, the chairman of the selectors, no firm decision has yet been taken with regard to the captaincy, although he hinted that Hashan Tillakaratne will continue to lead the Test team after Sri Lanka's recent 1-0 win against England.

"Coach John Dyson is away in Australia on holiday and he is not expected back until January 13," said Kaluperuma. "We will meet shortly after his return and then take a decision."

Following the resignation of Sanath Jayasuriya from the captaincy in March last year, the selection committee, headed by Kaluperuma, decided to split the captaincy in two by appointing Marvan Atapattu for the one-day matches and Hashan Tillakaratne for the Tests.

While Atapattu has proved his credentials with series victories over West Indies and England, Tillakaratne went through six Tests without a win before breaking the lean run with an innings victory over England in the final Test in Colombo.

"Hashan has his plus points as well as his minus points. Overall he has done a fair job as captain. Everyone would have been happier if the series result was 3-0 instead of 1-0, but it was not so," said Kaluperuma. "Hashan has been on the job for only nine months and seven Tests. It is not fair to judge him on so short a time. The captaincy will be discussed at length before we take a final decision." Kaluperuma added that Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara were other future candidates for the captaincy.

The 20-man squad will be picked midway through a new provincial tournament, but Kaluperuma said players who perform exceptionally may be drafted into the training squad at a later date. He said, "We will bring players from outside the squad if necessary if they show good form during the tournament."

Kaluperuma was also pleased with the performance of the A team in India. Several players enhanced their chances of selection during the tri-nation tournament at Kolkata. He said, "Players like Russel Arnold, Jehan Mubarak and Prasanna Jayawardene have done well and we will have to consider them for the senior team whenever opportunities become available."