- Backs zero tolerance on those who are unfit
- Insists WC a lingering disappointment
Ex-Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya says that the current set of national players need to be thick skinned and accept both bouquets and brickbats in equal measure, if they intend to carve out long-term careers in the world game.
The former national captain who quit his post in the aftermath of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, made this remark during a podcast with well-known tutor turned podcaster Upul Shantha Sannasgala recently.
Jayasuriya, 56, said that players of his era neither cringed nor whined when plying their trade, but noted that current-day cricketers were not made up of the same stuff and advised them to face criticism and praise equally as it was part and parcel of the game.
“In our time we also had people criticising us when he failed miserably, and then heaping lavish praise when we did exceedingly well,” the former dynamic opener who quit his post with more months yet to run in his contract, observed.
“In those days though, social media was not so popular as it is today and that too was a saving grace for us. However, I find the present-day players, despite all facilities provided to them, tend to either cringe or whine more often than not. I think they need to shed this syndrome, if they intend to go far in international cricket. I always advise them to do their talking with either the ball or the bat. They need to block the outside noise.”
Jayasuriya felt the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in which his team failed to advance to the knockout stage being a co-host of the event will remain a lingering disappointment in his life.
“This is one regret that will remain with me for some time to come,” he pointed out. “I really believed that with this particular bunch we could get into at least the semis, but sadly that wasn’t to be the case. Well that is life.”
He mentioned that the loss of four key players namely Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana, Kusal Mendis and Eshan Malinga to various injuries almost at the start of the competition had thrown their plans haywire.
But he was quick to reiterate that he was not giving any excuses for their failures insisting that being in their backyard they ought to have still performed well and accepted that during his tenure the team was plagued with inconsistency – specifically in the shortest format.
The former master-blaster who revolutionised pinch-hitting during the 1996 World Cup in company with his erstwhile colleague Romesh Kaluwitharana, opined that he had made his mind to step down from his post in January this year.
“I was there for one-and-a-half-years and under my watch the team showed progress in both ODIs and Tests,” the one-time lawmaker, who was his country’s first home-grown coach in over two decades stated.
“It was only in the T20s that our success rate was in the region of 50 per cent. I thought I must leave and hand it over to someone who could take the team further up across all formats. All these positions are not permanent, so why hang onto them and according to the faith that I follow, life itself is impermanent.”
Jayasuriya who is set to be replaced shortly by ex-South African batter Gary Kirsten was of the view that fitness tests mandated by Sri Lanka Cricket for its nationally-contracted players is timely, and insisted that those failing to meet the required standards need to face the resultant ramifications.
“This zero tolerance on unfit players is the right way to go about it,” the former skipper who has been reassigned to the SLC High Performance Centre (HPC) asserted.
“They (players) need to understand that there cannot be any compromise on fitness. Period. If they don’t meet the required threshold then they will need to face up to the consequences of their actions.”