Mubarak or Arnold?

Following Sri Lanka’s test defeat there’s a lot of opinion expressed that Russell Arnold, instead of Jehan Mubarak would’ve been a better choice to replace injured Chamara Kapugedara. Mubarak, who hasn’t had a good enough first class record in the recent past was rushed in as the replacement. Why not Arnold? Arnold has been a proven performer in both forms of the game over the years, but has failed to live up to the ‘Mr. Reliable’ tag he earned, say 5 years ago. I remember the time when Arni was able to win matches single handedly from virtually hopeless situations. But since late, he’s lacked the all important consistency and has thrown his wicket at critical times. So then, was Mubarak the correct choice? Looking at his batting in the first innings and superb fielding, I feel his selection was justified, but at the cost of Arni? It’s a tough one…

Nevertheless, whether it was Arnold or Murabak, the Sri Lankan middle order batsman must take blame for the defeat.