5 batsmen who did not live upto their potential

#2 Kusal Perera

Kusal Perera could never properly justify his selection

The first thing that struck everyone when they saw Kusal Janith Perera was the resemblance of his batting style to that of Sanath Jayasuriya. And this is no co-incidence. Perera used to be a right-handed batsmen and became a leftie because he wanted to emulate his hero – who else but Jayasuriya.

He seemed to be a compact and punchy player in the same mould as Jayasuriya and could replicate some of the 'Matara Mauler's' trademark strokes – the lofted whip off the hips and the slash through the off-side.

The problem with Perera proved to be his inability to build on the starts he got. This frustrated the selectors and the Sri Lankan fans. He looked the part often in ODI’s and played many cameos that promised a lot but were cut short by indiscreet strokeplay.

To be fair, Sanath Jayasuriya too was often guilty of doing the same. But he had the ability to go big and play proper match-winning innings, a quality Perera seems to sorely miss. His powerful strokeplay meant that he was often trusted by the selectors and given a long rope and he did score three hundreds in ODIs. But we are yet to witness the kind of high-impact knock that Jayasuriya specialized in.

Another problem for him has been his consistency. There are far too many low scores between the substantial knocks he has played. The selectors will not remain favourable forever.