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Lankan cricket in throes of shakeup

P Mohan Das in Colombo

Sri Lanka will have a new cricket captain when the new selection committee, whose first task is to pick the country's 'A' squad to England, meets somtime next week.

According to reports, the number of contenders for the post, after the forced exit of Arjuna Ranatunga, has boiled down to just two -- Sanath Jayasuriya, and Roshan Mahanama, both members of the newly crowned league champion side Bloomfield.

Upcoming batting star Mahela Jayawardene seems set to be named vice captain, with a view to the future.

The need for change at the top became apparent following Sri Lanka's dismal run in the last five one-day tournaments, beginning with the Mini World Cup in Dhaka in October last year and culminating with their unsuccessful attempt to defend the World Cup in England last month.

Cricket board officials said all players have been asked to report, by July 10, before a full meeting of the selection committee.

Earlier, Arjuna Ranatunga got the axe after the country's humiliation in England.

Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka won 89 matches, lost 95 matches, and there were eight games that ended without a result besides one tie.

The Lankan media, which has been backing Ranatunga all along, is now calling for his ouster not merely from the captaincy but from the team itself -- the argument being that if Ranatunga is continued as a player, his presence in the side would be daunting for his successor.

Lanka has, meanwhile, been talking to Dav Whatmore, the Australian of Lankan origin who coached the side to a win in the 1996 World Cup. Word doing the rounds is that Whatmore was sacked at the behest of Ranatunga -- the bone of contention being that the coach wanted to build a young team for the title defence in 1999, while Ranatunga wanted the seniors to continue to pack the side.