Sri Lankan selectors decision to rest Marvan Atapattu is ill-timed and dangerous

The Sri Lankan cricket team were on a high. Six consecutive wins - a record for a sub-continental side - and a third series win in the offing left them a happy and contented bunch. But, on the eve of a series clinching opportunity, the national selectors have now soured that positive atmosphere.

The five-man selection panel, accountable to the ministry of sports and headed by chairman Tikiri Banda Khelgamuwa, has incensed the Sri Lankan team by resting vice-captain Marvan Atapattu and promising young fast bowler Charitha Buddika Fernando for the second Test against Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka should still win, but the decision to rest both players is not only demeaning to the game Test cricket, but also an ill-timed and dangerous move that has damaged morale in a previously harmonious team.

Sri Lanka are only one-nil up in the series and a Zimbabwean win in this hill-station venue is not inconceivable. A lively pitch and overcast skies provide the ideal conditions for their quartet of fast bowlers on a bogey ground for the hosts - they have lost three of their last four games here in the last 16 months.

Chairman of the selectors, Tikiri Banda Khelgamuwa, explained the thinking behind the decision: "We have made the change in the best interests of Sri Lankan cricket. Sri Lanka has a long international calendar leading up to the 2003 world cup and we want to try out some new players."

He argues that Zimbabwe's modest side provides an opportunity to experiment. There is some truth in this but the underlying fact is that the series has not yet been won. In Test cricket you underestimate opponents at your peril.

The appropriate time to give Silva international exposure was in the third Test next week - assuming Sri Lanka win in Kandy - and in the recently concluded LG Abans tri-series when Silva could have played in the final group game.

By making these changes now, clearly against the wishes of captain and coach, the selectors have handed Zimbabwe hope where there was none before.

The decision to drop Fernando is potentially the most damaging change - not to the team but to the two bowlers. The young bowler has played two Tests on dry, flat wickets. In both games he had quietly impressed and this match provided the perfect opportunity to boost his confidence before the England tour, where he could have a key role to play with his accurate, skidding seamers.

In his place comes another promising fast bowler Prabath Nissanka, who is short of confidence after some wayward performances in the one-day game. His talent is raw and his mind fragile. Worse still, when he marks out his run tomorrow, he will do so with additional pressure on his shoulders knowing that his teammates feel Fernando has been unjustly sidelined.

The timing of his inclusion is wrong and smacks of a selection committee out of touch with the internal dynamics of the team. Should he fail then there is the very real threat that his career will go backwards rather then forwards.

The selectors belief that Silva be given a chance is understandable, but having knowingly pushed out the vice-captain against the wishes of the team, he too will be burdened by the feelings within the team. Probably, he will be under greater pressure tomorrow than if he had stepped out in front of a full house at Lords next May.

Also, why Atapattu has been identified as the man to step down is unclear. He has scored two double centuries and a mountain of runs in Kandy. Stuart Carlisle, the Zimbabwean captain, couldn't hide his delight: "If its true, I am very surprised because of his record in Kandy. Its good for us and we have now to get at them early."

His removal leaves Sri Lanka without a specialist opener, although Russel Arnold, who will move up the order, scored both his Test centuries as a number two. But it is a position he is now unfamiliar with. To give him less than 24 hours to prepare for the job, let alone not consulting him, is unfair when he is fighting for his place in the team.

The decision was also made without apparent reference to the conditions in Kandy. The selectors sat in Colombo and are thus unaware of the pitch and the overcast conditions, which make the decision to axe Atapattu, a naturally adhesive anchor in bowler friendly conditions, even more perplexing

There are other concerns, particularly the fact that the wishes of captain and coach have been so summarily and arbitrarily ignored. A decision of this unusual nature clearly should have the blessing of coach and captain - they are the ones you are best able to gauge the impact on the players and team.

And what happens if this arrogant plan backfires? If Zimbabwe pull off a surprise win in Kandy and hold out for a draw after poor weather in Galle, who will accept the blame for a change in Sri Lanka's ICC Test Championship standings? Ultimately, it will reflect badly on the captain and coach, who live and die by results.

Psychologically, the team has been handicapped without a ball being bowled. Jayasuriya has been made to feel powerless, Atapattu is upset and probably resentful, Arnold is burdened by unnecessary pressures at a crucial time, Silva's mind will be cluttered by fears that he has inadvertently caused a problem in the team, Fernando`s self-belief will have dipped and Nissanka will more tense than ever before.

The objective of blooding young players is to be applauded, but the timing is appalling and the manner in which the decision was made was deeply insensitive.