Sri Lanka Cricket in talks with three coaches

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) suffered a massive setback when their head coach Graham Ford decided to quit his job. He apparently had a few spat with team manager Asanka Gurusinha, claiming the latter had crossed his limits on certain occasions. The head coach post is currently vacant and SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala has an adverse situation to deal with.

Sumathipala is currently hunting for a capable coach who can help Sri Lanka get out of this diabolical transition phase that has been underway for more than a few years now. This means that both India and Sri Lanka will have a new coach in their respective galleries before they collide in Sri Lanka next month.

He mentioned in an interview with Daily Mirror that they are in talks with three individuals who can possibly take up the coveted post. He also revealed their interest in bringing back current Bangladesh coach and former Lankan cricketer Chandika Hathurusingha, who is doing a spectacular job for the Tigers from the last two years.

Hathurusingha though is contracted with Bangladesh until the end of the 2019 ICC World Cup and is not available for any other team. “We are talking to three others. “Chandika Hathurusinghe is not available. Gurusinha wants Hathuru but he is not available,” said the President.

He also added that the current Sri Lankan captain Upul Tharanga or any other senior player in the side will not be consulted on this issue. This indeed is quite weird as barely any person puts a step forward without consulting the captain in various countries, the best example of it was the Kumble-Kohli saga in India.

Sumathipala defends Gurusinha in his feud with Graham Ford

Asanka Gurusinha was roped in from Australia and was appointed as the team manager of Sri Lanka. Graham Ford apparently had an issue with Gurusinha’s excessive involvement in the issues pertaining the team’s performance.

Nevertheless, Gurusinha has the backing of Sumathipala, who explained that the former was brought into the side to make Sri Lanka a “winning team”. He also mentioned that Gurusinha’s role as a Manager involves coordinating with support staff, players and the board.

“Asanka Gurusinha is not a coach. He is in charge of the team, coordinating with the support staff, selectors, players, High Performance and SLC Board. He was brought in (from Australia) because we want a winning team”, the President said.