Preview

From Hawks to Lions to Viikings (with two I’s), Dambulla made headlines because of frequent change of franchise names way before the tournament began. Finally they have a solid franchise, but the volatility in the planning stage seem to have affected the selection of the Dambulla squad. On paper, they seem to have few holes in their ship and given the lack of superstars, specially in the international front, and they will have to be resourceful in their selection for a smooth sail.

Best XI

1. Upul Tharanga
2. Niroshan Dikwella (wk)
3. Paul Stirling*
4. Oshada Fernando
5. Ramesh Mendis
6. Dasun Shanaka (C)
7. Angelo Perera/ / Samit Patel*
8. Samiullah Shenwari*/ Anwar Ali*
9. Kasun Rajitha/ Sudeep Tyagi
10. Malinda Pushpakumara
11. Lahiru Kumara

Unlike other teams, balancing the Viiking XI will be a challenge as 4 of their 6 international stars; Shenwari, Ali, Tyagi & Alam, are pace bowlers. Given that local speedsters Lahiru Kumara & Kasun Rajitha are already in the squad (and probably in better bowling form than their international counterparts), there is a possibility that the XI will be selected using only 3 international players.

There will be a close tussle for the No. 7 spot between Angelo Perera and Samit Patel, given that both are left arm spin bowling allrounders. It will be a pity if playing both of them costs the position for Ramesh Mendis (which is highly likely), who will add more value to the squad with the leg spin as well as batting. Malinda Pushpakumara is the only experienced spinner hence he is likely to feature in the playing XI. With Lahiru Kumara likely to play the lead fast bowler role, a close battle could be expected among Rajitha, Tyagi, Shenwari, Ali & Alam for the remaining two positions. It will be interesting to see how Viikings go about in their selections in the weeks to come.

Batting

Viiking’s top order will be their batting strength. With 4 experienced internationals, they’d expect Tharanga, Dickwella, Fernando & Stirling to provide them with a solid starts. The middle order looks a bit light with youngster Ramesh Mendis expected to bat at No. 5, but the experience Dasun Shanaka, together with the likes of Samit Patel/ Angelo Perera should be able to take manage risks and increase the run rate.

The likes of Dickwella, Tharanga, Stirling & Shanaka has enough fire power to dominate any opposition, while Fernando and Mendis are expected to take control of the Viiking’s innings and bat long.

Bowling

Viiking’s squad has an over dose of fast bowlers hence at any given time, but Lahiru Kumara will likely to lead the pace attack. Given that Dasun Shanaka too could roll over his arm with his medium pace, they will not need more than 2 other speedsters. Kasun Rajitha is a front runner for a position in the XI while the remaining position will be a tussle among Tyagi, Shenwari, Ali & Alam.

When it comes to the spin front, a lot will depend on Malinda Pushpakumara, as he is the only experienced spinner in the line up. It will be exciting to see Ramesh Mendis in action, who is fast building a reputation to be a consistent leg spinning allrounder. Both Pulina Tharanga & Shajindu Colambage are promising spinners but it is highly unlikely that they will get more than 1 or 2 matches in the tournament.

Local Stars

Viiking’s have a good mix of experienced and young local stars. The experience of Tharanga, Shanaka, Dickwella & Pushpakumara will be critical for Viiking while youngsters Kumara, Rajitha & Oshada represented the country at the international stage. All local superstars have struggled to put up consistent performances at the international stage so this will a great opportunity for some of them to stamp their authority once again.

When it comes to X-Factor, the likes of Upul Tharanga, Dickwella and Shanaka can be game changers while Viiking will be hoping to find new local heroes in order to have a successful LPL 2020 campaign.

International Stars

Viiking will not be too happy with their international picks. Paul Stirling will definetely add value to the Viiking’s line up while Samit Patel’s experience will come in handy. But the selection of 4 pace bowlers is a bit of an overkill and they would love to have an experienced middle order batsman or an allrounder. Viiking’s selection options were further dented when Ravi Bopara pulled out of the tournament. Consistency again would be a challenge as most of the internationals starts haven’t been playing competitive cricket of late.

Unfortunately current international stars in the squad doesn’t bring a lot of X-Factor, with only Stirling is capable of playing a game changer role. Viiking will certainly feel handicapped given the international selection conundrum.

Tournament is critical for…

Oshada Fernando- After a successful South African tour in early 2019, Oshada would have expected to be a permanent feature in the Sri Lanka line up, which unfortunately hasn’t been the case. He would be hoping for some impactful, consistent performances to remind the selectors his worth once again.

Ramesh Mendis– A promising allrounder, Ramesh has been knocking the selectors’ doors for awhile. This tournament will be a great opportunity for him to showcase his talents and prove his worth with both bat & ball.

Critical Success Factors

• Solid start from the Top 4 – Viiking will be hoping their top 4 to provide them with impactful, consistent starts in order to let the likes of Dasun Shanaka come into play later on in the inning
• Dasun Shanaka- We saw how he single handedly took Cumilla Warriors to victory in BPL 2019. His impact is instrumental for the success of Viikings
• Wickets with the new ball- given that Pushpakumara & Mendis are the only renown spinners, Viiking will want their fast bowlers to do major damage with the new ball

IPL Comparator

Royal Challengers Bangalore- Dependency on players for success, with visible deficiencies in the squad

Tournament Prediction

• Best Ranking- 3
• Worst Ranking- 5

Coming in as underdogs, they will have to perform out of their skin to get into Semi Finals. But given the strength of other squads, this will be a tough task!

  About the Author

Dileepa Peiris is an ardent Cricket fan and has a keen interest for cricket analytics. Having come from a Management Consulting background, Dileepa is currently employed at a Technology giant in Singapore.