Is the Sri Lanka cricket team waiting for the Messiah in the shape of Chandika Hathurusingha to come and rescue them from the depths they have fallen into?
The buzz word in cricket circles is ‘Hathuru’ and Sri Lanka Cricket has made no bones about it that they are genuinely interested in securing the services of the former shadow coach of the national team to take over as head coach and turn the sagging fortunes around, similar to what he had done to Bangladesh cricket. Well, Hathurusingha if he accepts the post cannot be expected to perform miracles overnight but at least will bring a breath of fresh air to the team with his unique coaching skills that has helped many past Lankan cricketers to save their careers and become what they are today, and also brought respectability to Bangladesh’s cricket that seemed to be going nowhere until he took charge of them.
One of the cricketers to benefit from Hathurusingha’s guidance is former Sri Lanka middle order batsman Thilan Samaraweera who was recently appointed the batting coach of the national team. Samaraweera wasn’t getting anywhere in his Test career with his over-defensive type of batting which at times had cost him his place in the team. He went to Hathurusingha who was then coach of the Sri Lanka A side.
What Hathurusingha did to Samaraweera was to clear his mind of all the negative thoughts on batting and made him think positively. From that day onwards Samaraweera was a totally different player and ended his career with an impressive Test average of 48.76 that included 14 Test hundreds, 10 of which were scored after working on his batting with Hathurusingha.
When SLC made Samaraweera the batting coach the next move was quite obvious that they would approach Hathurusingha for the head coach’s position. Samaraweera had worked under Hathurusingha as a batting consultant for the Bangladesh team and when asked what was so unique about his coaching methods this is what he had to say:
“Chandika is very good in all three departments tactically, mentally and technically. The main thing is that he clears the mindset of the batsman and gives him the freedom to play. That has been the key to his success as coach from 2009 to 2010 with the Sri Lanka A team. That’s his biggest ability.”
SLC’s approach to Hathurusingha is not out of love for him but more as a survival ploy on the part of the man at the top whose head everyone is screaming for. The current administration knows that if they fail to find a suitable candidate to succeed Graham Ford during their tenure in office they would have failed by their voters to fill the void that has left the national team struggling for survival on the international stage. So Hathurusingha should be quite wary of the approach made to him and what lies beneath it.
Knowing Hathurusingha he has a mind of his own and will decide for himself what’s best for him. He certainly wants to give something back to his country no doubt but he should undertake the post on his own terms and conditions not leaving any room for interference with his work or his ideas on selection of players.
Turning our attention to the ongoing Test series, having escaped from the clutches of defeat in the first Test played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Sri Lanka’s lack of competitiveness was bared to the skin in the second Test played at Vidarbha Cricket Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur where India beat them rather comprehensively inside four days by an innings and 239 runs to inflict on them their worst defeat in history.
What is so sad about the Lankan team is that the players have not knuckled down to play the brand of cricket the country is associated with. The biggest drawback for Sri Lanka is their batting which has time and again failed to put the numbers on the board so that the bowlers can have an opportunity to put pressure on the opposition.
The opening day of the Nagpur Test was a classic example of to what extent the Lankan batting has deteriorated. It is not that they don’t have batsmen who can score the runs but the lack of execution in the middle after all the preparations they go through before the match.
The coaches and the support staff always keep on saying the work ethics of the players is excellent and their preparations are as good as any other team in the world, but where the players err is in the middle where all the hard yards of work are not converted into big numbers.
All of that may change come late December if SLC is successful in roping Hathurusingha.
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