Much of Sanath Jayasuriya’s cricketing career was spent on being the aggressor. The left-handed opening batter’s attacking exploits for Sri Lanka are hard to be forgotten.
Now as Sri Lanka’s interim coach, Jayasuriya wants his wards to play their natural game, which he believes is aggressive in itself.
“The way Sri Lanka plays is aggressive by nature. And I want them to play their natural game all the time. We don’t need to change. What I need to give them is confidence and the right environment,” said Jayasuriya ahead of his side’s three-match T20I series against India, which starts on Saturday in Pallekelle.
The 55-year-old’s installation at the helm came after former coach Chris Silverwood resigned following Sri Lanka’s failure to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup Super Eights.
Jayasuriya, who served as the batting consultant in the tournament, expressed his disappointment in how Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign panned out.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify. That was a bit of a disappointment for Sri Lankan fans. We were all disappointed. But the team knows what went wrong. And we have been discussing about it. Mainly, the batting didn’t click much. We need to correct ourselves,” said Jayasuriya.
The Sri Lankan coach emphasised his eagerness to take on his new job, despite the difficulty it entails.
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“Coaching is always a challenging job. When you coach your country, you are happy to do that. But it’s challenging and there is a lot of hard work. But the way I’ve been working with players, it is something I’m enjoying. It’s good,” added Jayasuriya.
The former Sri Lankan opener also doffed his hat to India, the reigning T20 world champions.
“India is a confident side. They’ve been playing good cricket, winning the T20 World Cup. A few good cricketers, like Rohit and Kohli have retired. But the rest of the players are really good. It’s a tough game for us. We know how they play attacking cricket. They always take on any opposition and try to put them down very fast,” said Jayasuriya.
In addition to India’s formidability, Jayasuriya will also have to be wary of the vagaries of a packed schedule, with the three-game series packed into a four-day span.
“I think players might find it difficult to play back-to-back games. It’s very tough. At least we need 24 hours of rest after one game. After the first game, we finish at midnight and the next day we have another game. It’s tough for the boys. But now we can’t do much. We need to focus and go and play to our strengths,” added Jayasuriya.
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