Sri Lanka’s temporary coach, Sanath Jayasuriya, believes the team members are dedicated and thinks they need to improve their understanding of the game before the one-day international series against India begins. Sri Lanka lost the T20I series against India 3-0, having failed to win in all three matches despite being in a position to do so. In the last match, Sri Lanka lost 7 wickets for 27 runs, and India managed to win the game in a super over.
Before the first one-day international match against India on August 2, Jayasuriya believed that the players needed to improve their ability to handle pressure. He emphasized the importance of “understanding cricket” by suggesting that players should focus on scoring two and three runs on the large fields in Sri Lanka, rather than just aiming for big hits.
“I don’t think they lack dedication, but they must learn to handle pressure better. They also need to improve their understanding of the game. We are taking on this responsibility, and we can’t avoid it. As long as they recognize this and make sure they do their part, we will continue to provide them with confidence and support.”
“When discussing powerful batting, I believe it’s not necessary to rely heavily on it,” Jayasuriya mentioned. “By hitting a good number of fours and twos, you can achieve the score you need. The Sri Lankan fields are slightly larger, so there’s no reason you can’t hit boundaries, twos, or threes. If you can manage that, you can succeed without needing to hit many sixes.”
Charith Asalanka was set to become the captain of the limited-overs team for the T20I series, and Jayasuriya supported him to do well in this role. The temporary coach stated that Asalanka should be allowed time to adjust to his new position as captain.
“Charith Asalanka is one of our top players in this format, and we must keep that in mind,” Jayasuriya added. “But taking on the captaincy brings some pressure. I’ve experienced that myself. We need to give him some time to settle into that role.”
“There are ten additional players on the team and 16 in the group. We need to unite and also boost his confidence. The captain might perform well at any time. Charith Asalanka is a dedicated player. He’s very professional and has good communication skills.”
The first one-day international match between India and Sri Lanka will begin at 2:30 PM Indian Standard Time in Colombo.
