Rex Clementine
in Abu Dhabi

There is a school of thought to borrow a leaf out of India’s book and appoint a local as the Head Coach of the national cricket team. Under Ravi Shastri, India have enjoyed unprecedented success over the last three years and with his tenure ending, another former captain – Rahul Dravid is set to take up the position. World’s highest wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan is taking the lead role to promote his former team mate Roshan Mahanama as the successor to Mickey Arthur.

“There is lack of discipline. Roshan is someone who is disciplined and he will help us to get over the hurdle. It is not easy to do that with seniors’ egos. If Roshan comes in, the whole mindset will change. That will help Sri Lanka Cricket. It’s only my opinion,” Muralitharan, who is a brand ambassador of the ICC T-20 World Cup said talking to local journalists on Monday as Sri Lanka overcame Namibia in their opening game here at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

“First Roshan has to agree and then there is a process. It would be ideal if our local coaches can handle things. There are vast language barriers when foreign coaches are involved. When Arjuna was captain, he built a team for a foreigner to take it further. This team is young so you need one of our own. That’s why India looked at one of their own coaches. Roshan for us is the start. In future, we have to give our ex-cricketers a chance,” Murali added.

While Mahanama looks the ideal candidate for the job, whether he will fit in in a fragile and unprofessional  system remains doubtful. There were high hopes when he was appointed the coach of Sri Lanka ‘A’ team in 2002. Methodically, Mahanama was grooming several young players but his stint did not last long as he quit like a gentleman on principles.

Several members of the Cricket Advisory committee had been strong advocates of fewer teams in First Class cricket. But under their watch, instead of teams being reduced, it has only been further increased diluting the system further. Murali explained what prompted his colleagues’ actions.

“How are you going to throw out some of the clubs. If you do, you have to face the consequences. There will be court cases. The clubs will say it is unfair dismissal. The whole tournament can’t happen due to legal implications. We have to take some time to reduce the clubs. We have a three year period and by the end of it we want to reduce it to 15. There is a relegation system in place. However, the Provincial tournament will be the main format for us to select teams for international cricket,” he elaborated.

The arrival of former captain Mahela Jayawardene on a temporary mentor role for the ongoing T-20 World Cup has been welcomed by many. But Mahela will leave the Sri Lankan bubble after the qualifying round and Murali was asked why he could not stay beyond. “When we had a word with him on this, we realized that he had been away from home in bio bubbles for four months. He needs some rest. He agreed to start off the tournament and put the puzzles in place. You have the coaches and the selector on tour to take it on from there.”