Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley De Silva was flown to South Africa earlier yesterday to bring back Coach Chandika Hathurusinghe after Sri Lanka was walloped by South Africa in their 4th consecutive One Day International played against the Proteas in Port Elizabeth yesterday, Colombo Telegraph reliably learns.
Hathurusinghe
Both CEO Ashley De Silva and Coach Chandika Hathurusinghe will fly back to Colombo at the conclusion of the 5th One Day International.
Ever since Head Coach Hathurusinghe took over the duties, Sri Lanka Cricket‘s dismal performance in the 50 over format has seen Sri Lanka plummet in the ICC rankings. Under his watch Sri Lanka shockingly lost to minnows such as Zimbabwe and Afghanistan. They were even knocked out of the Asia Cup last year in the preliminary stage too.
A reliable source from the newly elected SLC Executive Committee speaking to Colombo Telegraph on condition of anonymity said “SLC President Shammi Silva and the newly elected Executive Committee has had enough of Coach Hathurusinghe’s dismal overall performance, despite the huge investment that has been made in him. Currently we have lost 4 straight games in South Africa in the ongoing 5 match series and it is important that SLC knows what plans Coach Hathurusinghe has to turn this situation around, especially with the World Cup barely 3 months away. President Silva who also runs his club CCC with an iron fist as made it clear he will not tolerate any nonsense from Coach Hathurusinghe anymore. He is a coach who has failed in his duties with us. That is the truth.”
Sri Lanka Cricket will now hand over the coaching duties to Australian Steve Rixon who is currently with the squad in South Africa for the remaining T20 series that will conclude Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa.
Our source further said that Sri Lanka Cricket will be making some firm decisions such as selecting the World Cup squad from only those that will only be playing the scheduled Provincial Tournament that is scheduled to commencing on the 4th of April 2019.
“Only a squad of 60 players will be selected for the Provincial 50 over Tournament and only around 15 players will eventually be selected from this tournament for the ICC World Cup. Players will have around 6 to 8 games to impress the selectors and selection will be made purely on current form and not on past historical statistics and data” he said.
Asantha De Mel is due to also play a dual role as Chief Selector cum Manager when the team leaves for England on the World Cup tour. (By Janaka Ranaweera)
It's Time for CRICKET...YEAH... / March 14, 2019
CT : Hello we have more Pressing problems than GOD DAMN CRICKET…who’s the SOB approved this for Publication at this Time of utter uncertainty ? ? ? ? ?
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Drought is making it impossible to be without an AC ……..Our Debt is beyond the level for an any country of this Population to Bear (Yet nobody seems gives a S…TT)….Budget is barely got Approved…..Bastard Student Riots where I got my family stuck with it(13)….GENEVA HR convention SL being put under microscope…Elections are coming ….MR may come to power(whole world may go against if that Lunatic or His brother got elected) ……Tourism industry is not making Expected results…..RW losing his mind all over again……
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CT for F…k sake hello ….be little more Practical here….Cricket is for losers and on available (busy) leisure time…..Put this Crap-Hole Article at SPORTS TAB for god sake….
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BSP / March 14, 2019
A coach can improve players. He cannot make players. If he can make players, best thing is to put an advertisement and call for persons who like to become players and hand them over to the coach to make players. Present lot is undisciplined and vulgar.
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Jugman / March 14, 2019
Close down SL Cricket. It is now a heap of Cow Dung with worms creeping out from all corners.
The country has more pressing problems to solve than worry about a bunch of unruly arseholes jetting around the world with balls in their pockets.
Gone are the good old Kumar Sanghakara and Mahela Jayawardena days.
Please do not publish anything anymore about stinking cricket.
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Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera / March 14, 2019
In Sri Lanka, running any institution with an Iron fist is the way forward. Democratization of institutions will not work.
My Brother runs our estate better than many Government departments. Why? Because he runs it with an Iron fist and our servants are petrified of his mere presence. Actually, many homes in SL are run far better than govt. offices because the Master-Servant relationships in SL are highly autocratic.
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umberto / March 14, 2019
what estate are you talking about. The harem’!!!!
What has your comment to do with the state of cricket in SL. Just keep lending your backside to your ARAB masters
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Thassim / March 14, 2019
A coach cannot teach techniques and skills. Those are things they have to work on. No one could tell Malinga how to run-himself out like an amateur yesterday. These people are indisciplined and lack Sangas work ethic. Dickwella is a joke who loves to party hard. Thinks he is a Sanga but bats like a school boy. Others throw their wickets away. Dananjaya and Tharanga yesterday. Tharanga is still in the team; why?
A coach can bring some sort of organization only if the players are willing. If they are not, he should have the option to boot out a player.
However, there were other concerns too. Concerns a certain man was converting people or seeking to convert people to born again; or favoring people who converted to Evangelical Christianity and that there is a network who are born again fanatics who brought their religion into the game like never before and giving preferential treatment to those players.
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Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera / March 14, 2019
Thassim,
A very good post indeed. It appears there are a lot of issues here at play than an issue with the coach. But of course SLC needs a scapegoat and Hathu is a fine candidate.
First let’s start with Malinga. Apart from that stupidest run out one would ever see, Malinga always safeguards his own interests before the teams. A case in point was not bowling Isuru Udana towards the end. He feels with Udana’s batting and better death bowling, he just might loose his spot to Udana.
Then, his wife’s social media nonsense targeting Thisara Perera.
Then the Christian evangelical brigade influencing Cricket. I am a Christian too and I beleive Jesus was a great philosopher who said and predicted some great things. But I am no Christian who believes looking at the sky and drawing a cross around my body will help me score runs like that Moda Dickwellaya does.
Finally, the work ethic of modern day players is next to nothing. Gunathilaka is always in trouble. Dickwellaya always has a beer bottle in his hands. And what’s more, Tania Malinga is stalking that big boy Thisara on social media.
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K.Pillai / March 14, 2019
Here we go again. Why the hell did the Lankan Sports Minister send the two to SA in the first place?
Hathurusinghe did deliver, intentionally or otherwise, the unexpected!
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umberto / March 14, 2019
what estate are you talking about. The harem’!!!!
What has your comment to do with the state of cricket in SL. Just keep lending your backside to your ARAB masters
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shankar / March 15, 2019
another one bites the dust,another one bites the dust,another one……….
since the resignation of ford how many coaches we have had.So the problem lies not with the coach.
when ford resigned instead of accepting his resignation they should have told asanka gurusinghe to go back to australia.The rot started from that day and one of the best coaches in the world left.
How come hathurusinghe did a great job withe bangladeshis but unable with the sri lankans?
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Trevine Rodrigo / March 16, 2019
The most constructive comment.
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Nosey Parker / March 15, 2019
SL cricketers seem to be the only ones who are making a big display of their religious beliefs on the playing field . This is fast creeping into other sports like Rugby too . Let’s nip fanaticism in sports in the bud . Keep religion a personal choice .
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Fred / March 15, 2019
Chandika Hathurusingha (CH) was appointed coach of the SL cricket team in December 2017, and here he is, a mere fifteen months since then, possibly facing the axe. Surprise! Surprise!! What some of us are asking is ‘why did it take so long?’ SL Cricket’s engagement with its coaches in recent years has not been a happy one, and that has been just one of many symptoms of what ails SL Cricket.
We note that Malinga is also to be relieved of the captaincy for the two T20 games still to be played in South Africa. His appointment to skipper the One Day team, in the first place came as a surprise to many who felt he did not even merit inclusion in the team. He was once a great ODI bowler – one of the best in the game – but his glory days are long gone and it was unfair by him to expect him to deliver what his body and skills could no longer provide. But then, the chief selector seemed to think otherwise. He was reported as saying that “Malinga is a fighter. We need someone like him to take the team forward, to lead from the front. As selectors we thought he is the best to take the team to the World Cup.” He certainly could not take the team forward in the recently concluded ODIs. Neither did Upul Tharanga another player who somehow keeps being recalled to service, from time to time, without any recent form to support his selection!
The news item tells us that more changes are on the way. And so there will be – a little tinkering here, a little tinkering there, a couple of players dropped, a couple of new players brought in and so the circus will continue. But, then, this is cricket in Sri Lanka – a land like no other.
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Mano Ratwatte / March 16, 2019
Is this a case of “hisa radayata kottey maaru karanawa wagey”? Like changing the Pillow for a Migraine headache? Sigh, hope not. There seems to be strange dynamics going on. But can they hire Sanga as a motivational coach for the next 3 months at least? Good luck.
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Rtd. Lt. Reginald Shamal Perera / March 16, 2019
Mano,
Unfortunately, Sangakkara doesn’t work for Sri Lankan rupees. He only demands USD and INR.
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