September 29 Sunday 2002
Whatmore urges de Silva not to retire

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore has urged batsman Aravinda de Silva to postpone his decision to retire until after next year's World Cup at the very earliest. De Silva announced on Friday that he was ready to quit international cricket after today's final of the ICC Champions Trophy against India. 

The 36-year-old, who is Sri Lanka's leading Test and One-day International scorer, said he wanted to go out at the top and allow younger players a chance and would only stay on if the selectors wanted him to do so. But Whatmore said on Saturday he was desperately keen for de Silva to remain part of the Sri Lankan squad not just up to the World Cup that started in southern Africa next February, but also for the foreseeable future. "I recognise he's got a family life and a business life and it's the weighing up of those factors that's probably got him to make his assessment of where he is at the moment and where he would like to go," Whatmore said.

"I just think that playing with us up to and through the World Cup must be a minimum amount of cricket he should play." De Silva's recall to the one-day team in August after more than a year on the sidelines has coincided with an amazing turnaround in form for Sri Lanka, who previously managed just one win from six matches in a triangular 
series against England and India. Since his comeback, Sri Lanka have beaten Bangladesh 3-0, won the Morocco Cup against Pakistan and South Africa and reached today's final of the Champions Trophy.

De Silva won the man of the match award for his off-spin bowling in Friday's semifinal against Australia with a brilliant spell of one for 16 from 10 overs, but Whatmore said he was an equally important member of the side off the field. "From my point of view he's been wonderful to the team. It's the experience he brings, not just with bat 
and ball but also in areas that are difficult to quantify.

"It's in the team room, the team meetings, the dressing rooms, the bus travel. It's that extra experience, that calming influence and it's an asset that means I hope he plays on as long as he can." 

Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya also added his voice to the calls for de Silva to stay on: "Personally I think he can play on a lot more." With Sri Lanka's next home series not until after the World Cup when they are set to play New Zealand in mid-2003 it still seems likely today's match will be de Silva's last international on home soil.