Sanath Jayasuriya laments unavailability of champion cricketers in Lanka

Former Sri Lanka skipper and current chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya has gone on to state that there is no dearth of talent in Sri Lanka, but the fact of the matter is that there has been little or no champion players coming through the ranks in the form of Kumar Sangakkara, Arjuna Ranatunga, or perhaps even Marvan Attapatu. Speaking to the media on the day, Jayasuriya stated that the players did indeed have the talent but not the adaptability to play in overseas conditions.

“I wouldn’t say there’s a dearth of talent but we don’t produce those champion cricketers as much as we did in the past,” Jayasuriya was quoted as saying by espncricinfo.

“I don’t think it’s a problem with the domestic structure or the school structure, because it’s the very system that produced all those champion cricketers in the past. So, we need to assess this situation and find out where the problem is and correct it,” said the southpaw, who amassed 13430 runs from 445 ODIs and 6973 runs from 110 Tests.

“We should be able to play under any conditions, not just at home. There’s no point giving excuses or blaming our domestic structure after we lose a series. Your success depends on how fast you adjust to these conditions but sadly we have taken too long to do that,” he said.

Jayasuriya went on to conclude that most of the players at the moment simply did not have the ability to absorb pressure. “The problem I see here is not lack of talent but their inability to adjust quickly to situations and handle the pressure. You can’t play cricket, if you can’t absorb pressure.”

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