Sri Lankan cricket has been going through a torrid time in the past few months. First, they were knocked out from the ICC Champions Trophy from the 1st round itself and then, suffered a 3-2 loss to Zimbabwe in the ODI series in their own backyard. Then, India defeated the Lankans in all 3 formats and won all the 9 games on the tour.
The current players haven’t been able to carry forward the legacy that the former legendary cricketers like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene had raised. There has been an increased demand for the former players to get involved to revive the game in the country.
As per reports, the duo has been roped in by the Sri Lankan Board to help rejuvenate cricket. Sangakkara and Jayawardene along with Aravinda de Silva and Anura Tennakoon have been asked to form a five-member committee for the rehabilitation of Sri Lankan cricket.
Fitness a major concern
One of the major issues for the team is the fitness of the players. Several players injured themselves in the recent past. The likes of Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne and Kusal Perera couldn’t take the field in the ongoing series against Pakistan in UAE. Aravinda de Silva reckons they need to figure out ways to mend the injury concerns.
“One issue to look at in the short-term is the frequency of injuries,” he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. “Whenever we have a good run of form, we get injuries to key players. We need to look at the research and try and gain a better understanding of why this is happening and how we can better handle it.”
Jayawardene expressed his concerns over the state of cricket in the country and stated that he wants to help revive it. “We are not part of Sri Lanka Cricket,” Jayawardene said. “It’s up to them to implement these plans and we hope they do, because if not all these meetings would just be a waste of time. I’m willing to put in one final effort to help cricket in the country, but it’s up to the board to make it happen. We can’t just keep coming back over and over again, as some sort of band-aid solution, he added.
