ICC Twenty20 World Cup | Former champions Sri Lanka clash with fast-rising Namibia
The Hindu
Sri Lanka's first rivals Namibia are returning to World Cup stage after competing in the 2003 edition.
Still undergoing a difficult transition phase, former champions Sri Lanka will seek a prefect start to their T20 World Cup campaign when they clash with Namibia, who are returning to the big stage after 18 years, in the Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Sri Lanka won the 2014 edition of the tournament and from next year onwards their champion players retired one after another, leaving the side with a challenging job of finding their replacements.
Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera have all hung their boots.
With the clock ticking down to the Lok Sabha election counting day on Tuesday, opposing fronts are perceptibly edgy and poised to continue the rancorous skirmishing that marked the campaign season in Kerala. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, is seemingly basking in the “interim victory” granted by various exit polls. The UDF discerns that its poll strategy of turning the polls foremostly into a damning referendum on the Left Democratic Front government’s perceived failures rather than BJP’s “divisive politics” at the national level stood a fighting chance of paying off.