5 players that Sri Lanka have not been able to replace

#4 Sanath Jayasuriya

Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s first marquee star

One of the most dashing openers the game has ever witnessed; Sanath Jayasuriya is arguably the best opener in Sri Lankan cricketing history. The southpaw is famous for his aggressive style of play and terrorised even the best of bowlers.

On his day, Jayasuriya just mauled any bowling attack in the world and single-handedly won many matches for the Lankans. Jayasuriya, in fact, was not only a batting great but also a skilful left arm spinner who made picked up some crucial wickets when the team needed them the most. In a career that spanned 22 years, Sanath had a tremendous impact on the youngsters in the country and inspired many to take up the sport.

Jayasuriya retired in 2011 and since then, the Lankans have tried many openers but to no avail. Be it Kusal Perera, Lahiru Thirimanne or Dimuth Karunaratne, no one has been able to match the class of Jayasuriya and get the team off to good starts consistently.

However, in recent times, they seemed to have found a new life in the form of Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka who have impressed everyone with their consistently good performances in the recent matches. It’ll be interesting to see if these two can carry on and continue the legacy of Jayasuriya.