A six-day camp with Rajasthan Royals director, Zubin Bharucha and Lanka Premier League (LLP) was conducted for the preparations of cricketers from the island nation, revealed Sri Lanka's interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya in a press meet on Wednesday.
He said, “Rajasthan Royal's high-performance director Zubin Bharucha has helped my batters prepare for the upcoming T20 series against India where I expect them to take advantage of the recent retirements of stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.”
Star batters from India, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja retired from the T20 International after India's World Cup triumph last month.
The T20 series against Sri Lanka will get underway here on July 27.
Jayasuriya said, "We just started the sessions just after the LPL. Most of the players are playing the LPL, so they were busy with cricket and what we wanted (for them) was to play cricket as much as possible."
He further added, "We got Zubin from Rajasthan Royals and we had about six days of work and also with the other cricketers who finished with the LPL.
I hope the players have learned what you (management) wanted to do in terms of practice and their technique.”
"The preparation was good, and we have two more days in Kandy before the T20 starts," he added.
Sessions with Bharucha were intense and it had helped a lot of players to learn, says Jayasuria.
"It is important to learn as international cricketers new techniques, new approaches, and shot-making to be effective," he said.
With the arrival of the new captain, Suryakumar Yadav for T20, the coach urged his players to make the most of the opportunity.
"Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the best players in the world. Looking at their talent and the kind of cricket they have played, we all know where they belong, along with Jadeja," mentioned the head coach, adding, "Their absence will be a loss to the Indian team and we have to take maximum advantage out of that,” he said.
Heads rolled in the top management of the Sri Lanka team when the team captain, Wanindu Hasaranga, head Coach Chris Silverwood, and high-performance consultant Mahela Jayawardena all resigned, thus, creating a debacle in the T20 World Cup in the USA.
Jayasuriya on the current state of the Lanka said that players can develop themselves.
"It is up to the players, we have been doing all the work in terms of practice, we have given training, and we have got the best coaches. I think Sri Lanka Cricket has provided most of the things and now it is up to the players," he said.
He further added, “For the present cricketers to come to that level, we have been doing all the necessary work and I hope in the next two years there will be a lot of development in these boys.”
“We need to give a little bit of time. I know, for the cricket-loving public it is frustrating sometimes but be patient, give us time, we are working on it. It is really hard work on it with the players and they will do well,” mentioned Jayasuriya.
The 1996 World Cup winner, Sanath Jayasuriya, said Sri Lanka has enough talent in its ranks to come out of troubled times while acknowledging the frustration of the fans.
"We have enough talent. What we want (from them) is to go out in the middle and deliver- it is not easy, we know that," he said.
"We have delivered when we were playing and now the time has come, people are waiting for this present team to perform, and with what we are doing at the moment they will deliver very soon," he added.
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