Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood believes Dasun Shanaka’s unbeaten 88-ball 108 will put him in the ‘IPL marketplace’ again.

Sri Lanka coach Backs Dasun Shanaka to get IPL contract after brilliant hundred vs India (AP Photo)

By India Today Web Desk: Sri Lanka head Coach Chris Silverwood has backed captain Dasun Shanaka to get an IPL contract after his brilliant hundred against India in the Guwahati ODI on Tuesday. Silverwood believes Shanaka’s unbeaten 88-ball 108 will put him back in the IPL marketplace.

Sri Lanka were facing a big loss after being reduced to 179 for 7 in their chase of a mammoth 374, but Shanaka, batting at No 6, gave them a faint hope with his counter-attacking knock as they managed 306 for 8 to settle for a 67-run loss on Tuesday.

“I think he (Shanaka) has done himself a world of good,” Silverwood said during a media interaction after the first ODI.

Shanaka, who had a base price of Rs 50 lakh, went unsold at the IPL 2023 auction held in Kochi last month.

“He has put himself in the marketplace now. I am sure the (IPL) franchises will be looking at him and seeing how dynamic a cricketer he is. He is a great striker of the ball, so hopefully, he will get an opportunity.”

This was Shanaka’s second ODI century as he carried on his form from the T20I series where he was their top run-getter with 124 runs at a strike rate of 187.87.

Asked if Sri Lanka were over-reliant on Shanaka, the coach said: “I don’t think we rely (only) on Dasun. He is in a great vein of form at the moment, so obviously he is shining.

“If you look, we had Pathum (Nissanka) also score runs today. I thought the partnership between him and Dhananjaya (de Silva) gave us some momentum when they were together.” Opener Nissanka made 72 from 80 balls, while Dhananjaya scored 47.

“We have seen over a period of time that each individual at times has put their hands up and been counted. So I am not overly worried about that.

“Obviously, we need them to put their hands up more, especially on very good tracks like this, to put that fight up, to build partnerships. So that’s a constant work,” the coach said.