England-bound coach concerned over IPL setback for Lankan cricketers
It is not a strange coincidence that of late when the Lankans embark on a tour of England, the entire effort is covered by the dark clouds of the IPL. During their last tour of England, the Lankans with their IPL humpback made haphazard entry into the birth place of cricket and there is no difference this time, they are doing the same.
The Lankan entry into England will be in bits and pieces or whenever the IPL ‘gods’ let them off the hook. The others left in Sri Lanka and who at least had pre-tournament grooming took wings this morning.
Before their departure the Sunday Times spoke to the Lankan batting coach, Marvan Atapattu, to ask him about the preparations and the readiness of the Lankans.
First, we asked about the preparations and the Lankan chances at the Champions Trophy. His answer was: “Our preparation was really good with the guys who were here. It is of concern that some of the players who went to take part in the IPL have not played the cricket that they would have wanted to. That was kind of a concern. That is why the board wrote to those franchises asking them to release the Lankan players who were not in action. Once they are contracted it’s a bit hard and they may have had their own reasons not to release them. But, having said that for the guys who were here, it was our responsibility to provide them with the best facilities in getting them prepared for the tournament. That we did. We also hoped when it came to the preparations the guys who were unutilised would be released, but that was of no avail. The three-cornered limited overs series in Pallekelle was organised mostly with them in mind.”
Then the Sunday Times pointed out to Atapattu that the number one to four batsmen were either short of match practice or out of form while in addition Angelo Mathews, who lost his captaincy at the Pune Warriors, may not be in a proper frame of mind to lead the national side at tournament like the Champions Trophy.
Atapattu countered that argument by saying, “It is never the same when you are playing for your country and representing a franchise. If you are a 20 million dollar buy or a two million buy it does not matter. When you are playing for your country and playing with your own countrymen the feeling is different. This is the norm with so many ex-players and that feeling you will never get. One positive thing that I see in this whole scenario is that 20-20 is a different form of game. Playing for the franchise, especially as batsmen, all what they practise is playing chip shots, sweeps – I mean the riskier shots.
“Here we are going for a format which is a little longer. This is a 300-ball format. I know and I feel that most of the batsmen who were not playing in the IPL would be thinking of doing the basics and doing them right. This means in English conditions in early summer, it is going to help them and help the team to get big scores.”
In a lighter vein Atapattu added, “After a good IPL the last occasion we went to England it took time….. a lot of time for some of our batsmen to get adjusted. Now here, which is not a very successful IPL, where some of the batsmen have sat out, and Angelo has given up his captaincy, it is too much of a burden; some of them may blossom. There is no doubt about the quality that we have. It is how you apply. The biggest challenge is how you apply and how soon you get adjusted to the conditions. However, I would have been happier if most of them got the opportunity of playing in the triangular tournament because that was the plan. That would have been the ideal preparation. It is a drawback for us as coaches who are preparing the team.”
Then we asked about the injury of left-arm seamer Chanaka Welagedera. He said, “Welagedera was brought into the squad to add variety to our attack as he is the only left-arm seamer. However, the good return in this episode is that Dilhara Lokuhettige bowled absolutely brilliantly. Given the chance to prove himself he grabbed it.”
Responding to the question of how the Lankans would approach the first three games, which would be the first hurdle, Atapattu said, “If we play to our true potential and adjust ourselves on time and if the batsmen put enough runs on the board, which I think that they would do, we can clear the first hurdle.”
When the Sunday Times inquired about the team for this tournament which is full of experienced batsmen and our preparations for the World Cup 2015, Atapattu said, “The world cup is a good two years away. At least it’s a two-year preparation. With guys who are on the other side of the thirties I reckon they themselves are not very sure that they would hang around for so long. Right now it’s a bit tricky to explain. However I must also add that the seniors have not been pushed enough by the youngsters.”
Atapattu then explained that the three-day triangular came out with a lot of talent that the future could hold. He said that Dilhara Lokuhettige bowled well while left-arm seamer Vimukthi Fernando also had proved that he had a good future ahead of him. In batting, Kaushal Silva proved that he could bat along letting the others build their innings around him. Finally he also became the man of the series with a string of good performances. “These types of tournaments show us as to who can handle pressure and play the right innings at the right time or come up with a performance that suits the moment.”
Atapattu also said that Angelo Perera proved that he was made of good stuff while Ashan Priyanjan also impressed a lot especially when he scored that century against the National team. Sachitra Serasinghe was another batsman who impressed.
Then he finally added, “It is not the number of runs that you have to look into. You have to ascertain their talent and potential for the future.”
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