Former captain and Chairman of Selectors, Sanath Jayasuriya has urged the public to support the national cricket team during the World T-20 in Bangladesh. Sri Lankan fans’ hopes have been dashed on several occasions at major ICC events.
As the national cricket team has lost four ICC finals in the last seven years, but Jayasuriya says the fans need to forget the past and support the team.
“Since 2007, we have done well at ICC events. But unfortunately, we have faulted in the final. But I think during the Asia Cup we came out of that barrier. We won chasing and it was tough to chase 260 against such a strong bowling unit. That has given us confidence. On previous occasions, we had put undue pressure on ourselves when chasing big,” Jayasuriya told journalists on Friday.
“Now the players are experienced to adapt to such situations. We didn’t win the finals, but that’s all history. What we should be happy is that we have reached the finals. We have to do our basics right and we should play our natural cricket. The fans need to forget the past and support the team to go all the way,” Jayasuriya added.
The Sri Lankans go into World T-20 as the number one ranked team and with momentum behind them, having remained unbeaten during the bilateral series against Bangladesh and during the Asia Cup. One of the many positives during the last three months has been the emergence of several young players, who have come up with match winning and match saving efforts.
“That’s what we wanted. To get the team competitive and get them in good form ahead of the World T-20. It’s a bit tough for the selectors, but that’s a challenge we like. There’s a lot of pressure on us to select the best team. The seniors and youngsters are all doing well and the injured players are recovering fast, and I am happy with the way things are at the moment,” Jayasuriya further said.
Jayasuriya went onto pay tribute to the management of Sri Lanka ‘A’ team for the success of the young cricketers at international level. “Sri Lanka ‘A’ deserve a lot of credit. They have been playing a lot of cricket and a few players have emerged. We have done quite a few ‘A’ tours and that’s paying off. Playing a lot of ‘A’ team cricket is the key. That’s where these young players find themselves under pressure situations and adjust.”
“When it comes to a World Cup, all teams are challenging. We have to play well. As a team, we had been spending lot of time in Bangladesh and that could be a big advantage for us. We have played a bilateral series and the Asia Cup. We have spent nearly two months in Bangladesh. But we shouldn’t’ be over confident. We need to do the process right. Our coaching staff has a lot of good brains. Paul Farbrace, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vaas and Ruwan Kalpage; all of them are doing good jobs.”
