Sri Lanka’s coaching staff return for training

Head Coach Mickey Arthur and rest of the coaching staff of the national cricket team conducted their first training session at RPS yesterday after ending their isolation period.

The coaching staff, the closest contacts of Grant Flower, had to be isolated after the Batting Coach tested positive for COVID.

They have got a huge task to get the players ready for the series in just four days. India have been training at RPS for two weeks now.

Earlier this week. the players picked for the India series trained under Piyal Wijetunga, one of SLC’s senior coaches in the absence of the coaching staff.

With wicketkeeping duties likely to be taken away from Kusal Janith Perera for the series, Lahiru Udara and Minod Bhanuka have emerged as leading contenders for the job.

KJP was sacked as skipper after the England series where Sri Lanka lost five games in a row. His keeping was less glamorous as well and with Niroshan Dickwella suspended and Dinesh Chandimal out of the equation, the selectors have been forced to look elsewhere. Minod Bhanuka is a 26-year-old wicketkeeper batsman from Kurunegala, who has featured in one ODI. Uncapped Lahiru Udara is from Nugegoda and he is 27.

What the selectors think will be interesting but you tend to get the feeling that Bhanuka has an edge over Udara.

How much the selectors have seen of Sadeera Samarawickrama remains uncertain.  He looks the ideal prospect for white ball cricket and with a Sangakkarasque work ethic, investing on him wouldn’t go waste. They will also do well to go back to Sri Lanka’s tour of India and take note of comments of Indian great VVS Laxman on Sadeera.

At the moment, he’s in Dambulla and will probably get a chance with Sri Lanka ‘A’.