Sri Lanka lacking intensity at the moment: Chandika Haturasingha

Sri Lanka leave for Bangladesh on January 13.

Haturasingha will start a new coaching stint with Sri Lanka. (AFP)

Sri Lanka has lost as many as 40 international matches in 2017 and have ended 2017 on a really forgettable note. To add to that, Chandika Haturasingha who has joined the team as the new Head Coach is already down to the business of resurrecting the team for the upcoming year and challenges. Chandika Hathurusingha while speaking to the media revealed that among other things, the team is lacking intensity.

"Quite a few things we are not doing right at the moment and that's why we are in this situation. But no doubt about the skill we have. There are so many cricketers that I can see that they can go onto become one of the top five players in the world. If they are not doing justice to their talent, that means that lot of things are going wrong," Hathurusingha said on Thursday.

"In future it is not going to happen. If someone wants to listen to music during training, he can pack his bags and go home. I can't talk on what happened in the past, I don't want to assume things. But I will get a first-hand feel of what is going on. I have told them that preparation is the key. If we prepare well, we are giving ourselves a good chance to do well," Hathurusingha noted.

 

Haturasingha also noted the fact that their bits and pieces talent in Sri Lankan cricket right now and now its time that they start performing and delivering for the team as a unit. "I have spoken to them about how to get better.. what we need to do to get better.. I asked them whether they knew what they are doing. We need to know what we are doing to get better. I am pretty confident that we can do better. There's lot of talent in this squad and that excites me. That is what encouraged me to take up this position. I am hundred percent sure that we are can get better," Hathurusingha explained.

"I want to change the way they are approaching the training. That is somewhere we can make a big impact. To build their confidence, we need to change the environment; how we train and how we communicate. Those are the things that we need to work on quickly," he added.

That Sri Lanka start their new year campaign by playing a series against Bangladesh means that Haturasingha will be back to Bangladesh and will see his former team take on his current team. "It generates lot of interest as I am going back to Bangladesh. We are not performing to our capabilities and Bangladesh are strong at home in the last two years. Massive challenge for us” said the SL Head Coach.

Sri Lanka leave for Bangladesh on January 13. They will be involved in a tri-nation series that also has Zimbabwe. Then they play two Tests and two T20Is against Bangladesh.

 
 

By Anshuman Roy - 29 Dec, 2017

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