Muttiah Muralitharan on Thursday blamed non-performing youngsters and an unsettled combination for Sri Lankan cricket team's woes in recent times.
Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his third consecutive half-century as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 36 runs under Duckworth/Lewis in the third and final one-day international to clinch a 1-1 series draw on Saturday.
Keshav Maharaj claimed a career-best eight for 116 to prevent Sri Lanka from making the most of a strong start and limiting them to 277 for nine on the opening day of the second and final Test on Friday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews will appear before police on Tuesday to record a statement in connection with a match-fixing scandal that has led to the suspension of a fast bowling coach.
Pakistan fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Bilawal Bhatti scythed through Sri Lanka's batting during an exciting afternoon session to restrict their opponents to 204 on the first day of the opening Test in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Debutant fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti dismissed experienced duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in consecutive deliveries as Pakistan strengthened their hold on the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Images of the third Test between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo
At 876 points he is only eight points behind second-placed India spinner Ravindra Jadeja and 20 behind top-ranked James Anderson of England.
Photos from Day 3 of the third Test played between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on Sunday
Ajinkya Rahane became the first fielder in Test history to take eight catches, achieving the feat in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Friday.
A country which produced champion players of spin bowling such as Roy Dias, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, it has been sharp downward slide for Dinesh Chandimal's men, who have consistently failed against Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
He has been roped in to arrest the downslide in Sri Lankan cricket and Asanka Gurusinha's assessment of the fall is quite simple -- not grooming anyone to fill in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara's shoes.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane jumped three places to enter the top-10 in batsman's list while Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his pole position among all-rounders in the latest Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Several injury-prone pace bowlers including Nuwan Zoysa, Dilhara Fernando and Nuwan Kulasekera have missed out
Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera picked five wickets as Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 68 runs in the second Test in Dubai on Tuesday and won the series 2-0. Perera had figures of 5-98 as Pakistan, chasing 317 for victory, were bowled out for 248 in the second hour of fifth and final day at Dubai stadium.
Seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar wreaked havoc with a brilliant opening spell as he powered India into the final of the tri-series following a convincing 81-run victory over Sri Lanka via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-affected match in Trinidad, on Tuesday.
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq steadied the Pakistan second innings with an unbroken 113-run stand after their team appeared to be heading for a heavy defeat by losing three quick wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday.
The pressure will be on former captain Tillakaratne Dilshan to continue to play a pivotal role for Sri Lanka.
South Africa batted cautiously to reach 98 for three as they try to preserve their 1-0 lead in the series in the second Test and final against Sri Lanka on Friday.
Pakistan batsmen Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad scored fluent half centuries as the first Test against Sri Lanka ended in a tame draw on the fifth day in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
If KL Rahul is fit, Abhinav Mukund will be expectedly left out, a strange coincidence because he was the original back-up opener in this Test squad ahead of Shikhar Dhawan.
With Ravichandran Ashwin and Amit Mishra tormenting Sri Lankan team in the first two Tests, former captain Sanath Jayasuriya feels that the newer crop of batsmen emerging from the island nation have not done proper assessment of their ability to handle quality spinners.
South Africa reclaimed top spot in the Test rankings after grimly hanging on for a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, on Monday to win the series 1-0.
Younis Khan scored 124 as to propel Pakistan to 298 for four at the close of the second day, a first innings lead of 90 in the second Test against Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 201 runs on the final day of the first Test on Sunday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews defended the team's cricketers on Tuesday after recording a statement before police in connection with a match-fixing scandal that has led to the suspension of a bowling coach. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) handed Anusha Samaranayake a two-month ban on Monday over his relationship with net bowler Gayan Vishwajith, who allegedly approached national team players to under-perform during a test match against West Indies in October. "Sri Lanka Cricket has received several complaints regarding the close acquaintance of Anusha Samaranayake and the main suspect Gayan Vishwajith, who had approached several national players for the alleged illegal activities of match-fixing," the SLC said in a stateme
Hosts New Zealand gave the World Cup a cracking start with a scintillating batting show as they crushed last edition losing finalists Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the opening match of the showpiece event in Christchurch on Saturday.
Pleased with his fast bowlers show in the 169-runs win over Sri Lanka, skipper Virat Kohi said that it augurs well for the tours to Australia and New Zealand.
The veteran left-hander was unbeaten on 160 as Sri Lanka reached the close of play on 314 for five after captain Angelo Mathews had won the toss and opted to bat.
Kumar Sangakkara laid the foundation before Angelo Mathews completed a nervy chase as Sri Lanka beat England by six wickets in the fourth One-Day International.
Openers Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene hit centuries to power Sri Lanka to a crushing 161-run victory against India in the third match of the tri-nation series in Jamaica, on Tuesday.
The hosts, chasing a mammoth 550 for a win, only managed 245 runs before their second innings folded in the final session of the penultimate day after Dimuth Karunaratne had been dismissed for 97.
Part-time spinner Kraigg Brathwaite took six wickets in an inspired bowling performance as West Indies bowled Sri Lanka out for 206 in their second innings to leave the touring side with a target of 244 to win the second Test.
Nathan Lyon is pleased to have bagged the prized wicket of 'head of the snake' Virat Kohli.
Trent Boult took two wickets in one over and broke a partnership that had threatened to take the game out of New Zealand's reach as Sri Lanka reached 264 for seven by the end of a rain-shortened first day of the second Test on Friday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between Sri Lanka and India in Colombo, on Friday.
When India lost the Wellington Test by 10 wickets, was it the worst defeat for Virat Kohli's team? Rajneesh Gupta has the answers.
Shehzad-Ali add 120 runs for second wicket as Pakistan trail by six runs with eight wickets in hand
Potent England pace bowling after an unbeaten 155 from Moeen Ali put Alastair Cook's side in complete control on a one-sided second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Saturday.
In the batsmen's rankings, Cheteshwar Pujara is the top-ranked Indian at the fourth position while opener Shikhar Dhawan climbed 21 places to be ranked 39th.
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