Specialised training at HPC to enhance player skills
Sanath Jayasuriya, the fulltime cricket consultant overseeing the High Performance Centre (HPC) at Khettarama, believes specialised training incorporating various skills and match-like scenarios are crucial to enhancing the skill levels of white-ball cricketers. This recommendation was made by former national selectors led by Pramodya Wickremasinghe in early 2022. They had recognised the need to enhance skills to compete with global players. Unfortunately, the HPC had disregarded this, resulting in Sri Lanka’s underwhelming performances in global tournaments. On October 19, 2023, Wickremasinghe, in an email to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) hierarchy, exposed the HPC’s failure to address these important areas of player development. “As national selectors, we have continuously insisted on implementing the above-mentioned areas which we feel are being neglected by the responsible authorities,” he wrote. “However, we would like to again request the HPC to consider the future of Sri Lanka Cricket and begin planning to implement batting, spin and fast bowling squads after the World Cup. I personally believe that if we continue as we have in the last two years, the future will not be too bright.” Jayasuriya, who recently joined SLC on a one-year contract with broad responsibility to ensure that SLC national programmes achieve an optimal level of professionalism to deliver excellence, acknowledges the need to make changes to elevate player standards. “This is an area we need to improve significantly,” Jayasuriya said. “There’s talent and skill, but we need to introduce specific training to further develop them to be on par with worldclass players.” The rise in the popularity of shorter formats has led to faster gameplay and scoring. Elegant drives and wristy flicks have evolved into reverse sweeps, dilscoops, and switch hits. Batters must think innovatively to score runs in the fast-paced gameplay. High-scoring T20 games push batsmen to play unconventional shots beyond traditional ones. “If you look at some of the shots Glenn Maxwell played against Afghanistan during the World Cup, they are extraordinary. Unless you practice those improvised shots in training, it’s not possible to play them in match situations. In T20 cricket, it’s crucial to have those kinds of shots. This is an area I am eager to improve,” he said. The 54-year-old former skipper now aims to reintroduce academies for spin and fast bowling to prepare players for national duty. “Of course, there are certain things that have worked for us and certain things that have not. We need to examine why certain training methods have not worked and determine how we can improve them to suit our players. We need to understand our cricketing culture, the way we train, and so on, and tailor our programmes accordingly,” he emphasised. This is one of the reasons why Jayasuriya has requested to transfer Jerome Jayaratne back to the HPC. Jayaratne is currently at SLC headquarters as Chief Operating Officer, even though his expertise is on coaching. He has previously headed the HPC and served as interim coach of the national teams a few times before being sent to headquarters as SLC opted for a foreign trainer to head the HPC. Sri Lanka will play nine T20 matches-three each against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Bangladesh--ahead of the T20 World Cup in June.