‘Regret not winning a Test in India’
The retirement of spinner Rangana Herath later this week will end Test cricket’s link to the 20th century as he is the last active player to make his debut in 1990s. Curtains will come down at his beloved Galle International Stadium where Sri Lanka take on England in the first Test from Tuesday. Galle is a special place for Herath. It was here he made his debut in 1999. Then 10 years later, he made a memorable comeback to the team against Pakistan. It was also in Galle the left-arm spinner took a hattrick against Australia in 2016 and helped Sri Lanka to their last win against India bowling them out for 112 when they were chasing 176 in 2015. A member of the 400-Test wicket club, if Herath adds five more wickets in his last Test to his tally of 430, he will retire as world’s seventh highest wicket-taker. Over his 19 year career, Herath has served nine Test captains. He himself had a brief spell as skipper and has earned the admiration of both colleagues and opponents. Excerpts.
Assuming the Galle Test was the second Test of the series would you have played two Tests against England?
It would have all depended on my fitness. Honestly, it would not have mattered whether it was Colombo or Galle. Fitness was the key and I would have made a call looking at how I felt.
But you need only one more wicket to complete 100 Test wickets in Galle. Only James Anderson (Lord’s) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Asgiriya and SSC) have taken 100 wickets or more in a single venue.
Great if I can get it. Obviously Galle has been a special place for me for so many reasons. A lot of good things have happened there. I salute everyone who made it possible.
You have played a key role in some of Sri Lanka’s famous wins. What do you cherish most?
Winning the World T20 in 2014. I have played two World Cups (2011, 2015) and three World T20s (2010, 2012, 2014). We have reached finals on a few occasions but the 2014 win was special. I also cherish winning a Test series in England for the first time in 2014. Everyone talks about my bowling, but not about my batting. Angelo and I shared a 149-run stand for the eighth wicket and that turned the game in our favour. Great memories. Then I was Man of the Match when we won a Test match for the first time in South Africa in Durban. In Mahela Jayawardene’s last Test match, I took 14 wickets against Pakistan. That is also special. Beating Australia 3-0 was superb. I will also remember how we defended 176 against a strong Indian batting unit in 2015. I took seven wickets in the second innings.
Any regrets?
Not winning in India. I have been part of the side when we won all over the world, but not winning in India was a bitter pill to swallow. We had a good chance in Ahmedabad in 2009. We took a massive first innings lead of 350 runs. But Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir scored hundreds in the second innings and saved the game. That’s an opportunity missed. Should have won that.
In recent times, India have enjoyed the upper hand against you across all three formats. Their spinners are having a massive impact on the game.
I like Ashwin. He is a fantastic bowler. I am really impressed with Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja. The two wrist spinners have done really well in white ball cricket. The control they have is amazing. It is important to have wicket taking options in limited overs cricket. Kuldeep and Chahal are doing a fantastic job in one-day cricket.
Where do you rate Jadeja among leftarm orthodox spinners?
He has a smooth action. Good arm speed, pace and the ability to turn. He is close to take 200 Test wickets and has only played 30-odd Test matches. The problem is when India play away from home, his opportunities are less. In modern era, Jadeja is the best left-arm spinner in the world.
Not so long ago we were discussing the prospect of perhaps you playing 100 Tests. Dinesh Chandimal recently said that he wanted you to play for five more years. What prompted you to quit now?
It would have been nice to play 100 Tests. Only a few guys have done that. But my fitness is not great. Both my knees have been operated. I have started getting a severe back pain after I play a Test match. I am also 40. Galle would be my 93rd Test and to play seven more games it would have taken another 18 months. Too tough on the body.
You recently completed Sri Lanka Cricket’s Level 2 Coaching Certificate. Is that an indication that you will be taking up coaching?
I have been a banker for close to 20 years now. I want to concentrate on my banking career.
How has the team improved since the arrival of Chandika Hathurusingha?
I have worked a lot with Hatu. I played under him for Moors SC in 1999 when he was captaincum-coach. His specialty is that he can identify talent and make most of it. He can fine tune a player and bring out the best. He is a brilliant coach. He has got excellent communications skills. He is an aggressive coach and that’s his style.
Talking about your comeback in 2009, you were playing league cricket in England and you didn’t have a contract with SLC. You were suddenly called up 48 hours before the Test match against Pakistan when Muttiah Muralitharan was injured. At that point you had gone off the radar as other spinners like Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv had emerged. How did you keep yourself motivated?
For me to get picked at the early age of 21 was because I had potential. Getting dropped is not easy. But that allowed me to work on my game. I gained much experience at the time when I was out of the side than during the period from 2009 onwards when I was part of the side. The time in the wilderness from 2000 to 2009 made me tougher.