Reviving Sri Lankan Cricket: Coach Sanath Jayasuriya's Mission

New Delhi: Sanath Jayasuriya has wasted no time in making his mark as the new head coach of Sri Lanka’s men’s cricket team. In just two months since taking over, the team has shown remarkable improvements and a newfound sense of purpose under his leadership.

Known as Matara Mauler in his heydays, Jayasuriya was the interim coach after Chris Silverwood resigned in June this year. Under his leadership, Sri Lanka have enjoyed an impressive string of successes, such as a 2-0 Test series win over New Zealand, 2-1 series victories in ODIs and T20Is against West Indies, a 2-0 ODI series win against India, a historic away Test win against England, followed by a 2-0 ODI series win and a 1-1 draw in T20Is against New Zealand.

While most of Sri Lanka’s successful assignments have come at home, the next challenge awaits an ODI and T20I series in New Zealand. Although Sri Lanka lost the away Test series against South Africa 2-0, Jayasuriya is aiming to replicate that success overseas.

“The expectations are clear; we want to do well in NZ. For us to do well overseas, doing well in all three departments is very important for us,” the former Sri Lankan all-rounder told HT in an interaction facilitated by Sony Sports.

Sri Lanka’s recent wins mark a turning point after years of turmoil for the sub-continental team. Over the past decade, they endured a challenging transition following retirements, dwindling results, captaincy changes, conflicts within the board and even civil unrest.

Although it was his maiden foray into coaching, taking over the turbulent set-up was a challenge that Jayasuriya was confident of tackling.

“We went through a very bad patch and when I took over for, the expectations were very high,” added the 55-year-old. “Sri Lanka cricket board had confidence in me. The support staff I got, we’re all on the same page. We work together and we work hard.”

Jayasuriya, who pulverised numerous bowling attacks across a career-spanning 110 Tests, 445 ODIs and 31 T20Is, also believes in inculcating the same aggression in his players.

“I have given players a lot of confidence for them to come up and play their natural game. That’s a very important area for me to look at because I don’t want to put them under unnecessary pressure.”

Collaborative effort

It helps that Jayasuriya has the support of his former teammates and legends Kumar Sangakkara and Lasith Malinga who pitch in with insights. The result of the collaborative effort is evident.

“They’ve been involved right from when I became a coach, so I consider myself very lucky. Whenever I have required them to do anything involving the players, Sanga and Malinga have turned up. Their international experience coming through to these boys is crucial.”

To sort out technical issues, Jayasuriya has the support of batting coach Thilina Kandamby and Jehan Mubarak who handles technical analysis.

In a bid to avoid past mistakes, the system is also focussed on ensuring that there is enough supply in the pipeline – for replacements and transitions alike.

While the High-Performance Centre headed by Jerome Jayaratne plays a big role in that regard, A teams, emerging teams along with U-19 players, coached by Ruwan Kulpage, are ensuring that there is enough in store for the future.

“When I was a consultant, I observed that other coaches are not too involved,” said Jayasuriya.

“My style is different; I want everyone to be involved. We are a nation where everyone helps each other. I got that taste into the team. There is freedom now so coaches can talk to me. You can’t restrict them.”

Jayasuriya believes that the contentment of the coaches has translated into the dressing room as well. As a result, the players are confident about discussing what they are going through. The inclusive environment could just make Sri Lanka tick, again. “We might not work, but we are working hard and so, eventually it will work,” he added.

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