"Kusal Perera from the middle had made a gesture to send a right-hander in. His intentions of letting us know that a right-hander was needed is correct. We were prepared for the routine batting line-up. But when the set batter sends a message you need to listen to that. I would have been happier had Kusal Perera finished it off," he further added.
I see the players putting in enormous amount of effort, I appeal to fans to support the team during ODIs: Sanath Jayasuriya
In Colombo, Sri Lanka will play India in the first ODI starting on Friday, August 2.
Cricket island nation Sri Lanka have been tussling with Team India in their backyard in the limited overs format for nearly the last week. Notably, after getting cleanly swept by the Men In Blue in the T20I format, several cricket experts and legends shared their views regarding how the home team fared in the series.
Similarly, the interim head coach of Sri Lanka, Sanath Jayasuriya seemed disappointed by the performance of a growing side. Moreover, he also echoed the sentiments of the Lankan cricket fans. The former skipper and legend said that fans had every right to show their discontent over how the Lankan Lions performed in the recently concluded T20I series. However, he did urge them to back the team as the players have been putting in the hard yard. Hence he wants all the fans to heartily support the national side during the upcoming ODI series.
"I see the players putting in an enormous amount of effort. I appeal to the fans to come to the ground and support the team during the ODIs," he urged.
After the middle order gravely faltered in the last T20I game of the series where at one point, Sri Lanka were cruising well towards chasing down the target with sheer ease. However, late strikes of Indian spinners rattled the island nation completely. In fact, despite having managed to push the game into a Super Over, the Lankan batters failed to get going and could manage to set a three-run target for Team India. Reflecting on the same, Jayasuriya felt that the third T20I should have never been about playing the Super Over. Notably, after the 15th over, Sri Lanka needed just 30 runs from as many balls.
Also Read: Sri Lanka vs India Match Preview, 1st ODI
"The third game should never have gone to a Super Over. As coaches, you can tell stuff but handling pressure is for those out in the middle. We are aware that part-time bowlers (Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav) had got those crucial wickets. It is disappointing," Jayasuriya continued.
Kusal Perera batted for over 700 balls, I don't see a lack of commitment: Jayasuriya
Furthermore, Sanath Jayasuriya stated that the young Sri Lankan side have a plethora of skills and talent along with commitment. Hence looking at the present scenario, It was not that the national side cannot compete fiercely at the international level. As per his observations, the players have opted for some poor shot selection and they have failed to soak in the pressure situations in the recently concluded T20I series.
Notably, he cited the example of the top-order talented batter Kusal Perera. The former legendary Sri Lanka opener pointed out that Perera had batted for a long time in the net sessions. Hence they have been following a strict regime when it comes to practice. Hence there was no question of lack of commitment.
Also Read: Sanath Jayasuriya heaps praise on Yashasvi Jaiswal's work ethic, Jasprit Bumrah's clear thinking
"We have created a system where top order batters could bat for two or three-hours during training. Kamindu Mendis batted for more than 600 balls during our training. Kusal Perera batted for over 700 balls and that's quite a number of overs. I don't see lack of commitment, but they have got to tackle pressure better. Their cricket awareness also needs sharpening," the former legend said.
Besides, before signing out, Sanath Jayasuriya showed his utter disappointment and said that the whole team along with support staff and him as a coach was responsible for the recent defeat. However, he also did not miss out on emphasising the importance of giving enough confidence to the young players like he was backed early on in his cricket career.
"It's disappointing as a coach, but we have to take the criticism as well, as a coach, as a support staff, as a team. We are taking the responsibility, you can't go away from that. As long as they realise that, and make sure that, we'll have to keep giving them the confidence and support I had to go through this (phase) in my time as a cricketer, every cricketer has to go through this. When criticism comes, you have to take it," Jayasuriya concluded.
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