Pothas a contender for Head Coach
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Thilanga Sumathipala yesterday said that Interim Coach Nic Pothas – Sri Lanka’s Fielding Coach who was appointed as Interim Head Coach till the end of next month’s Indian tour – was also being considered as the team’s new permanent coach along with the other shortlisted names.
While not elaborating on the shortlisted names, Sumathipala said that there had been a lot of interest shown in the vacant position, including from ‘Sri Lankan-born’ coaches.
“Nic Pothas is a good contender for that (position), and there are professional coaches who are currently engaged, and shown lot of interest, and we’re confident, that at the end of the Indian tour we will not have to look far, we will look for someone competent to take this team to 2019,” Sumathipala said.
“We have formulated the same responsibilities for the head coach, and we’re having a discussion with our cricket committee over the next two weeks, with support staff giving their input. We’re going to review that contract for the new coach,” he said.
“Yes there are Sri Lankan born coaches who are interested. We will have to first discuss with our cricket committee, the structure, the plan, the kind of coach we’re looking at. When we (previously) looked at Dav Whatmore, he was a developing coach. Likewise there are coaches who are looking after a professionally advanced ongoing team. We have to make an assessment of the situation, we have to deploy the right person.”
Captain Angelo Mathews said that while he was sad about Graham Ford’s departure as coach – calling him ‘one of the best in the business’ – they had to move on from it and focus on the series ahead.
“It’s beyond our control. As players we have go out there and it’s our duty to perform to our very on the field, and off the field whatever happens it’s beyond our control. Fordy (Graham Ford) has been fantastic, one of the best in the business and we’re sorry to see him go. But we’ve got to move on and we’ve got to look ahead to this series,” Mathews said.
Meanwhile, SLC President Sumathipala said that a domestic T20 League, akin to the Indian Premier League and other similar tournaments, was in the pipelines with a 2018 launch date in mind.
“If we start a league we need to ensure that it continues. Not every country has a T20 League. There is an idea that having a tournament like that will enhance the standard of cricket.
‘‘That’s not true. For some countries there isn’t much of an income in hosting this sort of a tournament. We have a plan, and we don’t intend to have a tournament this year, since we have two tours – against India and Pakistan – coming up. We will definitely have a T20 tournament in 2018, and we hope to continue with it for a long time,” Sumathipala added.