Thread: Jayasuriya has future - De Mel

[size=12pt]Jayasuriya has future - De Mel[/size]

Sri Lanka chairman of selectors Ashantha De Mel insists veteran all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya could still have an international future despite his omission from the one-day squad to tour West Indies next month.

Jayasuriya retired from Test cricket in December in the hope of prolonging his one-day career but has endured a disappointing run since the World Cup. The 38-year-old was below par during the recent Commonwealth Bank series in Australia and has not been included in Sri Lanka's 15-man squad to visit the Caribbean for a three-match ODI series which gets under way on April 10.

De Mel said: "This doesn't mean it is the end of the road for Sanath Jayasuriya. If he is fit and performing we can always consider him, but not in the long term - maybe to replace an injured player or for a specific series as he will definitely not play in the next World Cup."

He continued: "We know he has been a great player but his record in the recent past hasn't been impressive and as a result of that we had to look at younger players.

"We have picked the one-day squad with a view to developing a side for the next World Cup.

"Some of the players we felt needed some more playing time and we also thought the West Indies tour would be ideal to look at some new players."

Muttiah Muralitharan, 35, was also left out of the ODI squad but will feature in the two-Test series which precedes the one-dayers.

"Muralitharan's case is different," said De Mel. "We know he can still play in the next World Cup if he is properly looked after, so we want to use him sparingly to preserve him for the big games and the World Cup coming up in the Asian sub-continent where Muralitharan will be a threat."

De Mel is looking forward to seeing what the new players can bring to the one-day set-up in the absence of the two veterans and knee injury victim Lasith Malinga.

"We have gone for back-up players in this series such as Kaushalya Weeraratne - a hard-hitting all-rounder who has the record for the fastest 50 in List A cricket -and Ajantha Mendis, the spinner from the Sri Lanka Army," said De Mel. "They are both players with great potential and young opener Mahela Udawatte is also very consistent and has great potential."

http://www.virginmedia.com/sport/cri...oryid=22140563