read kumar on selection decision

people have been making all sorts of comments online and offline about the sri lanka's resting of strike bowlers for our super8s match against australia. ( i too wrote a blog post).

now kumar sangakara has written an excellent article entitled "too much has been made of our selection" to cricinfo explaining the decision and questioning (quite pointedly in case of ian chappell et al.) some of the criticisms. below are some extracts but please read the complete article.

"Much of the analysis has been ill-informed, offered without great thought or deep understanding of this Sri Lanka team. Consequently, many of the critics have been wide of the mark in their conclusions.
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I question whether double standards are being applied here by some pundits. ... Will some of the television "experts" now calling for ICC intervention do the same when Ricky Ponting or Stephen Fleming or Graeme Smith next rests a strike bowler? I doubt it.
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Some of the critics appear to think that the Australia game was our most important game in the tournament. ... The simple fact was it was the least important game of our World Cup. Even the Bermuda game was more important.
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We are here to win the World Cup. Everything we do is focused on that goal. That was our focus before the tournament, and that is our ultimate focus right now. We don't care about morale-boosting victories
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We rested Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga in the best interests of the individuals and the team. ... We are now confident that they will be in the best possible physical shape they could be for the semi-finals. It was a team decision and a decision we're entirely comfortable with.
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Vaas and Murali may have played many games against Australia during their long careers, but Sri Lanka have not played Australia in the last 14 months - a long time in international cricket - and only six members of Australia's current team played in that match in Brisbane. Giving Australia's batsmen a free look-in was not to our advantage if we meet again.
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The argument against resting key players centres on the need to keep up so-called winning momentum. When self-belief is fragile momentum often gets one through. However, our confidence is high
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All the players understood our tactics and we went into that game looking for a win. ... Unfortunately, despite winning a useful toss, our batting let us down and we were punished for mistakes at the start and end of our innings.
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I am sure the debate will rumble on. We, though, are concentrating on the next challenge against New Zealand, a tough opponent for a semi-final. ... The side that turns up and believes in itself most will win. ... We are not making any assumptions about the conditions. We have a team that can perform in a variety of conditions and the suggestion that we'd prefer a slower surface like St Lucia is wide of the mark.
..."

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