| Sports |
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Haturusinghe a main contender
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| By S.R. Pathiravithana |
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| Nishantha Ranatunga |
Local coaches will come under a lot of scrutiny under the policies of the newly appointed Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket.
SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga told The Sunday Times, “One of our main aims is to push the Lankan coaches into the next level. Soon we would see a Lankan coach working with the incumbent expatriate coaches. He will gradually take over a major position, may be after the 2011 World Cup.”
Elaborating further on the matter Ranatunga said, “So far we have had a pretty good look at some of the local coaches who will join the coaching team. It may start as early as the T-20 World Cup tour of England in June this year.
“Former Sri Lanka opener Chandika Haturusinghe who is already handling the national “A” team is a leading contender and there are also other names like Naveed Nawaz who has been doing well in the local circuit and Romesh Kaluwitharana along with a list of others who are under consideration. Once the local coach is selected and he will go on-the-job trial and it is up to them to perform”.
Ranatunga added, “However we are hoping to upgrade the level of local coaching as a whole at all levels, and at the moment we have no intentions of changing any of the foreign coaches as they have performed to expectations”.
The IC secretary also confirmed that a new cricket committee would be appointed as soon as they overcome the existing logistical problems. “We have spoken to some prominent cricketers and we would have the feedback soon,” he said.
The new IC secretary also revealed that the new administration was also hoping to form an under 19 pool which would be a “running thing”. “All school cricketers with special talent will be recruited into this pool directly after school. If not, some of them will be grabbed by interested parties for jobs and that will be the end of their cricket career. Once in the pool, besides the normal training, they would be given courses in information technology and other relevant fields. We will also pay them a retainer so that they have some spending money too. This would be a two-year programme that will aid them to build up a proper cricketing career for themselves”.
Finally speaking on the contracts of the national players, Ranatunga said “Already we have had talks with the national players and they too have made a presentation to us. There are several concerns on their part, too. However, we are hoping to iron out all edges and sign the contracts within the next few days”. |
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