Recently Kumar Sangakkara was quoted as saying that he believed Sri Lanka could win the T20 World Cup. Well done to him. Except that I'm not sure he believes it. Even the Zimbabwe captain (who is it now?) probably thinks he's going to win the T20 World Cup... or at least will tell the media that. So no face value there as far as the erudite Sri Lankan captain is concerned. He's not selling himself short and airing his dirty linen as no captain should.

Speaking of airing dirty linen though, the closest Sangakkara got to doing that was when Sri Lanka won a close final in Bangladesh recently to annex the Asia Cup. At the presentation of the trophy, Sanga - in what was an incongruous forum - chose to thank the selectors for sticking to, and putting faith in, the squad that was selected. This statement was curious given the incidents that went before it.

Firstly, the squad that was picked for Bangladesh was devoid of Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardena. Both of whom were 'rested' - in South Asia, and Arsenal FC, nobody is ever 'dropped'. So the rested Jayasuriya and Jayawardena watched as younger men took on their mantle. The squad that was taken in the first instance was more than a little thin on batting. Not only because the selectors (as usual) got the batting:bowling balance wrong, but also because the line up was dependent on Dilshan and Sangakkara making runs. As luck would have it Dilshan got injured in the middle of his purple patch. Also a bowler needed to be sent home. As a result two batsmen were flown in - because that's what you do when bowlers are injured. One of the said batsmen was Mahela Jayawardena who miraculously recovered from his 'groin niggle' and proceeded to win the tournament for Sri Lanka. Emphatically. Mahela opened the batting and made hundreds. And then made a crucial half century in the final. However, he was not part of the original squad.