World Cup snub my fault, says Niroshan Dickwella

The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman says his poor run with the bat cost him a place in the World Cup.

A lean patch of three consecutive single-digit scores, against South Africa, came at the wrong time for Niroshan Dickwella. It was just a month before the World Cup squad was announced, leading the selectors to drop the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Dickwella, however, has taken the setback in his stride. “I didn’t get runs in South Africa, and I got dropped. That was my fault,” Dickwella said here on Thursday.

“The World Cup is a big event, but at the end of the day, it is just another tournament. I look at this as a learning experience. I’m confident that I’ll make a comeback and become a match-winner for Sri Lanka,” he said.

The 25-year-old, now part of the touring Sri Lanka-A team, showed his class with a fluent 113-ball 103 in the first unofficial ‘Test’ at Belagavi. “Now I’m back in the runs, and hope to get a big score again in the second match here,” Dickwella said.

Asked about the senior team’s chances at the World Cup, Dickwella replied, “We’re on a losing streak now, but we generally do well in ICC events. If we do the basics right, we can get good results.”

Away from cricket matters, Dickwella is greatly pained by the recent horrific bombings in Colombo. “Sri Lanka had finally found peace after 30 years of terrorism, but now we are again back to a rebuilding process. I’m really sad to see what we are going through, but I’m hopeful that Sri Lanka will soon regain its status as a country that people love to visit,” Dickwella said.