My response
 
lets look at this season, which started on July 30, 2009. We played 8 matches in total
I will list all the scores and also averages. Now dont tell me i look only at numbers, coz we can also debate on how each innings was made, where it was made, under what conditions it was, when did each batsman come to the wicket, who batted first and who batted last, and who and who scored in what and what situations....
And let me use all batters in the current team and if u want i can later add Mathews even (let me know coz he batted better than Mahela in my view). and I am going to insert a few comments coz the subject is now on Mahela and pls dont make me anti-mahela for that.
 
               Mahela    Sanath     Dilshan    Sanga            Kapu     Thilan      Kandamby  
vs Pak         33          15             dnp          36               8            10              dnp
Vs Pak         12          30             dnp           2               67*         38*            dnp
vs Pak        123         dnp            dnp          37*              8*           0               32  (sanga remains not, kapu N.O as well)        
Vs Pak          19         dnp            dnp          39               8             2               15  
vs Pak          31            6             dnp          16               1            dnp             42*  
vs Nz             0             7              4            18               dnp         104             15
Vs Ind          17            98            23             5                36           dnp           91*
Vs Ind           1             36            42            33               35          dnp            66  
 
 
During this period
 
Mahela 8 with 29.29
Sanath 6 with 32.00
Dilshan 3 with 23.00 (only 3 matches after injury)
Sanga   8 with 26.57
Kapu     7 with 32.50
Thilan    5 with 38.50
Kanda    6 with 65.25
 
 
Now to Mahela
He bats at number 3 or 4 mainly and thats where the big scores are usualyy expected coz they are prime spots for batsman, our master batsman.
This is his career lisitng. Attaching for you to refer the list and gauge.
http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/49289.html?class=2;template=results;t ype=batting;view=match
 
In his last 25 innings he has had only 1 x 100 and 1 x 50. 6 x ducks, 3 x 1’s – this is as bad as his wc 2003 form
His last 25 innings he averages 19!!!
 
In 2003 period, this is what his stats looked
In 2003 Mahela averaged 17.38  
If you think  the 2003 is average of 17.38 is so bad compared to 19 in his last 25 innings. That sure ends the debate
 
And let me also say that we are talking of Mahela in ODI's and not in tests.
 
One argument you can say is Sanga's last  8 match average is lessor than Mahela. That you make the call if you think Sanga should be questioned despite him being the wicketkeeper batsman cum captian. I wouldnt right now. But maybe I will some day i will if it comes to it.
 
And you can say Dilshan is lower, but he played only 3 matches and he is the well earned number one opener right now for us.(do u want to be anti-dilshan)
 
Now to your fielding.  
Yesterday indians had a terrible day in fielding. even the good guys like Kohli and Yusuf Pathan had a horror day. But india won coz their batman made the runs. You need to primarily get the batsman to put good scores. Kandamy may look slow, thilan may look slow, but they are good catchers and do not have terrible hands liek some pakistani's would. If Thilan replaces Mahela in current form, how many runs do u think Thilan would give away in the field compared to Mahela. 100,50, 25,10 hmmmmm I would say nothing more than 10.(fielding is sure and important aspect coz if india fielded well maybe they would have got us out much earlier coz they dropped 2 sitters as well. The bigger reduction in our runs would have been through taking those easy catches and not the agility factor. Agility is important too and that may save a few runs too, but surely not 30's or 40's. And ODO's is a batsmans game and you need the runs first, coz even if we have superior fieldes the great batsman will find the gaps and score the runs. And the runs are the bigger responsibilty of the batsman to make them. Having superior fielders is something we must aim for , but not at the cost of replacing a batsman making good runs by having someone with a average of 19 in the top order. In my case today its mahela and before that it was Sanath, the first is currently the lssor performer whilst the latter was the poor performer until last friday)
 
If u drop Kandamby for Thilan, at current form we are losing the most solid contributer to the middle order. Something like atleast 30-40 runs. And if Mahela can score those runs , then I am with you. Current form suggests he is not doing so. Mind you Mahela occupies number 3 or 4 slot, which is generally for the master batsman. In Odi's has he shown anything to that effect.  
Its not about the last 3 innings for some or whatever you assume as prejudice, its about common sense.
 
And when we go to S Africa, there is a strong possibility that we will have a challenge of facing the full 50 overs without being bowled out, in those conditions versus the stronger teams. We will need the runs and also staying power to play the full 50 overs, unless there is a plan to take the subcontinent pitches airlifted to S Africa.
 
Thks
Ajith
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In truth, the only claim to fame that Mahela has in ODI cricket is the 2007 WC in which he fared very well including scoring that brilliant 100 in the semis against NZ. His only other claim to fame in this version of the game is how on earth he never got dropped from the side for grossly underperforming! After 2001 by which time he had scored his 5th century, his next century however came only in 2006 against England - that is some 120 matches in between. The years 2002 through to 2004 were abysmal and it was only in 2005 that he started to perform in the manner expected of one of your leading batsman. But that only lasted till 2006 and since 2007, with the exception of the WC that year, he has gone back to his lack of being productive big time. And if Sanga is true to his word about selection being based on performance, then Mahela's tenure is definitely shaky. Certainly, he has looked like a shot duck this season with the exception of the fabulous 100 at Dambulla. Inspite of the 100, he is averaging just 22 in 2009 and this plummets to 17 without this score and that is in as many as 18 innings.
 
Curiously, he has made a greater fist of it in T20 especially during the IPLs so maybe its a concentration thing  . On that score, I'd like to see him made captain of the T20 team and Kumar left out because Kumar has really struggled in this version - just not his game.
 
And speaking of Kumar, he needs to lift his game too. He looks way too intense for my liking and appears to be so caught up in wordy mumbo jumbo that he repeats robotically at every post match speech as if it was a major revelation. Learn from our mistakes, batsmen taking responsibility blah blah blah. Utter poppycock. He needs to relax and not take the captaincy so seriously! For mine, he is not a patch on Mahela as captain yet.

Quote from Yoga on 09/15/09 at 22:35:47:

 
 
Yoga,
 
Talking of Sanga I fully agree with you on the lighlighted statement. Though the results have been very good under Sanga's captaincy, he has shown to be very intense on the field in contrast to the very cool head shown by Mahela. I agree that he may have taken the captaincy too seriously and trying too hard to impress. That was clear to see in the ODI's more than in the tests. As captain his batting also has fallen away in ODI's to the lowest avarage (26.57 as captain)) since early days of his carrer. In contrast his batting avarage in tests (60.44) as captain is batter than his carrer avarage.
 
Everyone wanted Sanga to captain saying that he has all the ingredients. I agree he has leadership qualities and will end up as one of the best captains we ever had but for now he has to keep it simple and keep cool in tough situations. Trying to be too smart might end up counter productive for him and if his captaincy affects his batting in ODI's, that will not do well for the team.
 
As for Mahela, I think he will have to rethink his options of what is important in his carrer. Personally I would like him to continue with test cricket in which format he has been a prolific scorer and give up on ODI's and maybe even T20's. I think how he performs in the Champions Trophy will give him an idea of whats best for him. For me, Dilshan should captain SL in T20's
 
I think we should get Dinesh Chandimal or Lahiru Thirimanne who seem to be in the Gurusinghe mould to bat at No.3 in ODI's to see how they go. Otherwise get Samaraweera to bat 3.
 
Cheers!!
 

While I was at it. I also wrote to the paper. The heading ofcouse has been spiced up coz the title I used was  
 
"Appeal to the captain to walk the talk".  But the newspaper has added something to effect of Mahela being Sanga's mate.
 
 
 
Dear skipper, walk the talk and drop your mate Mahela
 
 
    
Humans are full of words. Very few follow the talk with actions. In a recent interview with a newspaper, the current Captain said that players need to be in the team on performance and that should be for any player including himself. Now I am waiting for some actions that are in line with what was spoken.
Even after the interview, it was clear that there was no evidence of resting or dropping Sanath from the playing XI when he was having a bad run of scores. Yes, Sanath finally made a good score, but the wait cost us many runs and also opportunities that should have been given to someone more deserved to make the runs.
 
Now the focus is shifted to Mahela in One Day Cricket. In his last 25 matches he averages 19. He has been less than ordinary in One Day cricket , whilst brilliant in test cricket. So should we not look at other options for the ODI side as there have been sterling performances from Kandamby, Kapugedara, Angleo Mathews and Thilan Samaraweera. All this while, the setup was to make the known NAMES as permanent and then fill the rest. So when we play the next match, where Thilan is also expected to be fit, should he not walk into the team, in place of Mahela if the Captain intends to walk the talk. Of course, one convenient explanation will be that the next match is in South Africa and those pitches need experience. But then going back to even as long as 25 match, does not warrant him a place in the ODI team.
 
Here is Mahela in his last 25 innings as far back as mid 2008, from latest innings and to the past – 1,17,0,31,19,123,12,33,1,28,30,52,11,18,24,1,0,28,0,0,0,4,15,12,16.
 
This is a track record in ODI’s from Mahela batting at either number 3 or 4 and the recent exception was he scored 123 opening in place of Sanath. What we have to evaluate is, does this list of scores suggest that performance and consistency are evident. I think it’s a big NO.
 
So , since Thilan is coming back from injury, the way he should come into the side is by making way through Mahela’s place and not the newbees like Kapugedara’s or Kandamby’s as they have played much better. For comparison sake, let me also list the new season from July that lasted 8 matches.
 
Mahela         1, 17, 0, 31,19,123,12,33                8 matches at 29 average
 
Kandamby    dnp, dnp, 32, 15, 42*, 15.91*, 66     6 matches at 65.25 average
 
Kapugedara   8, 67*, 8*, 8, 1, dnp, 36, 35               7 matches at 32.60 average
 
Thilan            10, 38*, 0, 2, dnp, 104, dnp, dnp       5 matches at 38.50 average
 
Main reason why Kandamby, Kapugedara play lessor matches is because, they are the easy pickings to drop from the side, despite showing better performance and also batting much later than Mahela, which provides them lesser overs to score runs. And Mahela’s average as a top batsman would have been lower , if not for the 123 scored in a high scoring game ,where Sangakkara and Kapugedara also remained not out on a easier track to bat.
 
One from Kandamby, Thilan and Kapugedara are the likely ones who will get the chop when the next match gets about in Sep 22nd. Dilshan, Sanath and Sangakkra will make the side and then we need to pick 4 from Mahela, Kapugedara, Kandamby, Thilan and Mathews, which makes up the batting line up with Angelo as the allrounder. But they are 5 of them, and only 4 places, so who should get dropped. And I am pretty sure they will take the easy decision in chopping Kapugedara or asking Thilan to take the bench, but will not make the right and difficult decision of dropping a poorly performing Mahela in ODI’s.
 
The true performers have been Kandamby, Thilan, Kapugedara and Mathews even with the bat. But it’s likely that the axe falls on a performer.
 
Will the Captain walk his talk, or are these mere words we generally hear, that is played to the gallery?
 
 

Drop Mahela from SODI. For me he is potentially the greatest Test batsman for Sri Lanka. He is needlessly endangering this possibility by following the 20/20 and SODI formats. Money now is not everything, especially, as the likes of Mahela have lucrative careers in media, coaching and admin down the line.
 
Honestly, if I were Mahela, by now I would fully focused on country cricket and test cricket. What a shame!
 
Jayantha

Quote from Yoga on 09/15/09 at 22:35:47:

 
Many valid points in Yoga's post. But, the above post stands out due to its importance for SL cricket. Sanga really needs to step back and assess the situation, and clam down. We cannot afford a break down, or a reputation loss he would face in his verbal jousts on too many things.
 
We are seeing the two different styles--Mahela's and Sanga--really show up now. I am not sure Sanga can last long unless he re-evaluates things. My sense is also that a return of Tom Moody would help. He is available for India, so why not for Sri Lanka Tom? (No offence to the current coach, but Sanga needs a strong character to balance him for his own good. No, Ashantha De Mel is not the type of character I am referring to!)
 
While I accept Yoga's insight, I have not had the benefits of seeing Sanga in action. Can Yoga and others in Colombo start a separate "Capt. Sanga" thread here, please? If this chap comes of the rails, then will it be to Thilan we turn? I sense that we need to help Sanga on the Mahela and Sanath issue as above. Then we need to let Sanga know that there are issues in his apparent lack of composure in the middle. He must understand that he cannot force the issue, but instead talk it up with his bat. While at it why not give him his young protege from NCC, the new wicket keeper bat?
 
I would back up Yoga's split captaincy for ADI/ADI, only I would pick someone younger for the role. Maharoof, whose all round game is well suited to ADI/ADI?
 
Jayantha
 
 

Thanks fellows
 
I have not had time till today SUNDAY midnight to glanceat Dilmah forum. Must ponder over the facts and stats when I can find the time and am fresh. And to decide if I stand corrected  
 
cheers… no worries mates