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Arjuna should not continue even as a player

LEEDS, Monday _ The time has come for sweeping changes to the Sri Lanka cricket team.

The war cry is on. But it is not only the captain Arjuna Ranatunga who should go, a few senior players too, in order to allow a younger generation to take over.

For players like Aravinda de Silva, Roshan Mahanama, Hashan Tillekeratne, and even Romesh Kaluwitharana and Pramodya Wickremasinghe, if they are expendable to be replaced, the time is up.

These players find themselves in this situation not entirely because of their failure to defend the World Cup successfully, but because they now belong to a champion team which is on the decline.

However much their mind wills, the body has aged to such an extent that it is not willing to do the things it was capable of doing three years ago.

Sri Lanka who won the World Cup under Ranatunga's captaincy in 1996, were eliminated in the first round of the present competition, winning only two of their five group matches.

Elimination from the World Cup was the last straw for Ranatunga whose side's fortunes started to nose-dive from last October in Dhaka. Since, Sri Lanka had failed to qualify for the finals in five one-day tournaments and won only seven of its 25 matches, losing an unprecedented 18.

Ranatunga should not only forsake the captaincy, but quit it altogether. To have him in the team would only make life overbearing for the ensuing captain.

The era in which these players dominated and brought honour and glory to Sri Lanka cricket is now by-gone.

Let the old order changeth. It's time for the new order to take over. What we need is new thinking and fresh blood.

Our goal should be at least the next World Cup - 2003 in South Africa.

Unless we make a head start now, we will never get anywhere. Let the shambles and the disgrace of the 1999 World Cup be a good eye-opener.

Dav Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup success was a man on a mission with a vision. Building a young side for the 1999 World Cup was his first task at hand soon after he returned from Lahore. But his wisdom and advice just fell on deaf ears. He was ousted.

Sri Lanka's loss is England's gain. From Lancashire he is short-listed to take over the England job from David Lloyd.

What happened to Bruce Yardley is the same old story, although he was not in the same class as Whatmore.

Ranatunga and his fellow seniors were threatened by those thoughts. They were there to stay. They saw a gold mine in Sri Lanka cricket and they were not just about to let go of it. The worldly adulation that followed and the financial gains were things that were in-grown to a five-star lifestyle.

Those seniors who survived an era of 3-4 star accommodation and thrived on fish and chips and local Sri Lankans' hospitality found the Hiltons, Taj Palaces and Carltons difficult to let go.

It is not the passion for cricket that's keeping them, but the perks that come with it.

Let's face it. Whom are the players trying to hood-wink ?

It is all catching up too fast. So quit with some dignity before being shown the way out. Some of the players don't deserve it. They have served Sri Lanka cricket well over the years. They deserved the kudos when it mattered, but not anymore.

Sri Lanka must build their team on players who will be young and fit enough to adapt to both one-day and Test cricket.

Make Marvan Atapattu, a captain in making and Mahela Jayewardene, the new batting 'find' his deputy -- the rest of the team must be built around them. Having captained his school Ananda, then the under 19 side and also Sri Lanka 'A', Atapattu has the right credentials to serve at the highest level, now that he has become an established player in both types of games.

Jayawardene, the only class player to emerge from the younger brigade would be expected to serve Sri Lanka well.

There is talent in the form of Russel Arnold, Avishka Gunawardana, Prasanna Jayawardene, Nuwan Zoysa (when he is fit) to name a few, waiting on the wings for the break they deserve. They should be given enough time to establish themselves in international cricket.

The results at the beginning may not be encouraging, but it is better still to lose with a young team than with the present one. For there is much to be gained for the future.

For this to become a reality the selectors have a role to play. They are obligated to the nation and not to the players to make the necessary changes for the improvement of the game.

Duleep Mendis and his fellow selectors should put the right foot forward and make the first change by weeding out the bad influences _ the stagnating and aging seniors, thus clearing the path for the younger crop to harness their skill in a better environment.

Mr. Mendis _ people will praise your bravery, but that is only if you wield the axe like you wielded the willow.