Sports

Former Under-19 coach Roger Wijesuriya calls for two junior coaches

Published

6 years ago

2020/09/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

Roger Wijesuriya coached the Under-19 team for the 2008 and 2016 Youth World Cups.

by Reemus Fernando

Former Sri Lanka cricketer and ex national Under-19 coach Roger Wijesuriya believes that a long term training plan, with two coaches looking after the Under-19 and Under-17 squads right throughout will be the key to success at ICC Youth World Cup.

Sri Lanka is the only Test playing nation in the South Asian region, apart from Afghanistan to have not won the coveted global youth title since the tournament was introduced in 1988. The closest the country came to the title was when they reached the final against India in Colombo in 2000.

The country was eliminated from the first round at the Youth World Cup held early this year. In the first round they suffered defeats against India and New Zealand. Their only win was against minnows Japan. They reached the Plate final scoring wins against Scotland and Nigeria but were defeated by England in the final. The country does not have an Under-19 national coach at the moment and there had been no training nor had there been an Under-19 squad selected this year.

“There is a tendency to rest for months after the ICC Youth World Cup. That will not help. Only a long term plan can. We should have two coaches for the Youth teams. We must have an Under-19 coach who will solely concentrate on preparing the squad for two years for the World Cup. We must also have an Under-17 national coach who will groom a larger squad with probable players, targeting the next World Cup,” said Wijesuriya in an interview with The Island. Roger Wijesuriya was with Sri Lanka Cricket as a coach for ten years and was the Under-19 coach for two Youth World Cups in 2008 and 2016. Sri Lanka Youth team reached the semi final in 2016.

“Teams for the youth squads can be selected after the Provincial tournament. Even at Under-15 level, Provincial squads can be selected and be trained by specialist coaches. Sri Lanka has enough qualified coaches who can be specialist bowling, fielding and batting coaches at these centres. There is an ongoing Sri Lanka Cricket pilot project in the Central Province. That should be introduced at other places,” said the veteran coach.

Wijesuriya said that the players selected in the Under-19 national pool should be allowed to play for their schools during the first year but should continue with the national coach during the last eight months before the World Cup.

He also pointed out the importance of exposing the Under-19 players to tough competitions. “The Under-19 team should play in the SLC’s Under-23 tournament and Mercantile ‘A’ and ‘B’ Division tournaments. It will be beneficial for them to play in the Premier Limited-Over Club tournament as well. Playing against the Emerging team, is another option. In between, they will also get five to six foreign tours. When it is difficult to get tours against youth national teams there are other options. Even playing against regional teams in India, country teams in England or Australia will definitely benefit the Sri Lanka Under-19 team.”

“For players to get accustomed to playing long innings the Under-15 and Under-17 players should compete in the innings format in matches of two to three day duration.”

Wijesuriya also emphasised on the importance of the continuity of the coaching programmes even after the Under-19 level.

“The training process should continue even after the Under-19 World Cup. Those who are doing well should be promoted to the Emerging squad where they get the opportunity to reach the next level.”

Wijesuriya said that blaming the schools structure was of no use. It’s time to take the baton from the schools and continue the journey.

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News

Development of sports grounds in Government Schools

Published

29 mins ago

2026/03/25

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution
furnished by the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education to implement the project for the development of sports grounds in 400 schools over a 4-year period (2026-2029) covering all 25 districts, with one national school and 3 provincial schools at an estimated cost of Rs. 2010.50 million.

Out of the 10,096 schools currently operating in the country, it has been confirmed that only 5% possess sports grounds of standard dimension and accordingly the need has been identified to establish at least one standard sports ground with a 400-meter running track within each education zone to ensure equal opportunities for students to engage in sports.

Sports

Pakistan T20 cricket league to be held in empty stadiums amid oil crisis

Published

23 hours ago

2026/03/24

Priyan

Pakistan's Interior Minister and Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi speaks during a news conference regarding upcoming Pakistan Super League cricket tournament, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 22, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Pakistan’s premier domestic T20 league will take place in empty stadiums due to the recent spike in oil prices, says a top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The franchise-based Pakistan Super League, set to kick off on Thursday, also ⁠cancelled its opening ceremony in Lahore, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Sunday, citing a fuel ⁠shortage caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

The league was set to be played in six cities, but now only Lahore and Karachi will be hosting the games, with the opening encounter set to be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Pakistan has faced soaring oil prices prompted by the United States-Israel war on Iran and the subsequent spread of the conflict across the region. Pakistan’s government has asked its citizens to restrict their movements due to rising fuel prices.

“We don’t know how long this war will continue,” Naqvi said.

“We can’t ask people to restrict their movements and then have 30,000 people in stadiums every day. We decided that as long as this [oil] crisis is ongoing, we will not have crowds at matches. This was a difficult decision, but it needed to be made. The opening ceremony will also be cancelled.”

Naqvi said the PCB will issue refunds for all sold tickets within 72 hours and will also compensate franchise owners for the loss of revenue from gate receipts.

Naqvi apologised to the four cities – Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar – that will no longer host PSL games this season. “We have to restrict our movements, and we do not want to waste our resources,” he said. “I especially apologise to Peshawar, which was due to host PSL games for the first time, [but] there will be no crowds anyway, so there was no reason to go to those cities.”

Naqvi said he consulted Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the PCB patron, and the eight franchises before finalising the decision to stage the games in empty stadiums.

Several foreign players have pulled out of PSL due to personal reasons, including Australians Jake Fraser-McGurk and Spencer Johnson, South African Ottneil Baartman and Gudakesh Motie of the West Indies.

[Aljazeera]

Sports

Shanaka replaces injured Curran at Rajasthan Royals

Published

24 hours ago

2026/03/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

Dasun Shanaka becomes the second player to walk away from his PSL team to join an IPL franchise in the past few days.

Dasun Shanaka has replaced the injured Sam Curran at Rajasthan Royals (RR) for IPL 2026 and has informed his PSL team, Lahore Qalandars, of his decision.

‎‎Shanaka will join RR for INR 2 crore (US$ 214,000 approx.).

‎‎”Sam brings immense value with both bat and ball,” Kumar Sangakkara, director of cricket and head coach, RR, said. “However, we are pleased to have found an ideal replacement in Dasun Shanaka, a finisher with the bat and a quality all-rounder who helps maintain the balance of our side.”

‎‎Curran, who was part of a pre-auction trade between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and RR in which CSK acquired Sanju Samson and RR also got Ravindra Jadeja, has a groin issue, which has ruled him out of the IPL.

‎‎Qalandars, meanwhile, are replacing Shanaka with Australia allrounder Daniel Sams. PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi recently also said the board will be taking action against players such as Shanaka and Blessing Muzarabani who have been opting out of the PSL for IPL deal.‎

‎Shanaka, a lower-order batter and medium-pace bowler who led Sri Lanka at the recent T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, comes in with good batting form: he hit a 20-ball 50 against Oman and 76 not out in 31 balls against Pakistan. He has played one season of the IPL in the past, in 2023, when he played three games for Gujarat Titans (GT) with unspectacular returns.‎

‎He becomes the second player to walk away from his PSL team to join an IPL franchise in the past few days after Muzarabani opted out of his deal with Islamabad United once Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) reached out to him to be a replacement for Mustafizur Rahman, who the team had to release on instructions from the BCCI because of geopolitical tensions between India and Bangladesh.

‎‎For RR, Shanaka joins a strong list of overseas players, the others being Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Kwena Maphaka and Adam Milne.

‎‎RR, who finished one off the bottom last season, begin their IPL 2026 campaign next Monday, March 30, in Guwahati against CSK. (cricinfo)