Sanath Jayasuriya, the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer, has expressed admiration for the young Indian batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, emphasizing that the player has significant potential ahead. He also recognized Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson as talented and established players in the cricketing arena.
Dinusha had scores of 100 and 84 in the first Test against India in Galle which Sri Lanka lost. But his knocks of 103 and 133 not out in the second one at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo helped Sri Lanka seal an epic draw. “They’re talented and they’ve been proven players and all three, Sooryavanshi and all these players are really good. He also reserved special praise for rising Sri Lankan batting all-rounder Sonal Dinusha, and hailed his ability to deliver under pressure.
The trio are in Japan for the historic one-off T20I in Sano on Tuesday, before playing in the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan. Sooryavanshi has a long way to go and when he will get the opportunity, he will do good,” Jayasuriya said to IANS on the sidelines of the launch of the Corporate Cricket World Cup on Sunday.
In a bid to test players across different dynamics of the sport, the tournament will feature a mix of formats, including 11-overs-a-side, T20s, and 40-over matches, thus allowing working cricketers to showcase their adaptability and skills under varied conditions.
“I think we have a talented, good team for Asian Games, men’s and women’s and they’re doing well and I hope they will continue to do well,” he noted. Commenting on Sri Lanka’s prospects at the Asian Games, where the women’s team is set to battle against India in the gold medal game and the men’s campaign is scheduled to kick off later this week, Jayasuriya backed both squads to deliver strong performances. “Very good player, and future of Sri Lanka. It’s always been good to see a player like him performing really well under pressure. It’s not easy and in every innings he played really well,” he added. The former explosive opener, who is serving as the global ambassador for the Corporate Cricket World Cup, stated the importance of workplace tournaments in unearthing hidden talent and offering second chances to players who missed out on mainstream pathways. “As global ambassador, I have a theory about this corporate world cup. It’s starting from the cities and when you play in your city and when you have the opportunity, the players who are in the corporate sector, who are talented cricketers, who have missed their opportunities, they have a chance to show their talent.
“So from that talent, like the players we have been talking about just now, how he became a player for India, it’s like that you’ll be able to find few players, so that’s the key,” concluded Jayasuriya.
