Strong opposition is currently being expressed on social media against the cricket selection committee headed by Kapila Wijegunawardena over the sudden inclusion of Niroshan Dickwella in the Sri Lanka Test cricket squad.Despite the young Anjal Bandara continuing to score runs, many have been surprised by the decision to name Dickwella as the wicketkeeper for the first Test against India, replacing Bandara. Dickwella had previously been dropped from the team and has not scored a single century in his Test career.

The previous selection committee, headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, which was removed before the appointment of Kapila Wijegunawardena’s committee, had not even selected Dickwella for the annual player contracts.However, shortly after the new selection committee was appointed, Dickwella was also included in the list of contracted players, causing considerable surprise among many.There is also speculation that Dickwella’s sudden return may be linked to a religious sect associated with a senior figure on the cricket transformation committee, as well as to a controversial cricket manager.

Whatever the case may be, there is also a prevailing view in society that the members of Kapila Wijegunawardena’s selection committee lack an understanding of emerging cricket talent.Although members of the selection committee are prohibited from engaging in cricket coaching, Brendan Kuruppu, a member of the new committee, continues to run coaching academies at two well-known sporting grounds.