Lasith Malinga presents the reasons for Sri Lanka cricket's poor state

Sri Lanka cricket is at an all-time low, in recent times, in all firsts, they lost the ODI series to Zimbabwe 3-2, then a Test match to Bangladesh and later all the 9 games that the touring Indian team played across the three formats. The captains changed, the selectors changed and to an extent, the team changed as well but nothing changed the fortunes of the Lankans.

Now, Lasith Malinga who has himself been surrounded by troubles for disrespecting the Sports Minister of the country, and over his own fitness made a presentation during a brainstorming session organized by the Sports Ministry to look into the current state of cricket in the country, in Battaramulla and expressed that lack of support from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to the players was a prime reason they weren’t able to make a mark on the recent tour of India.

Grassless wicket

He stated that the team had asked for a grassy wicket while when they looked at the pitch for the game it was all shaved off. When enquired, they were told that it was a mistake as they used the wrong blade. Malinga said that this isn’t solely the reason for their defeats but things like this put the team down.

“When we asked for a grass track, they trim the grass and give us a grass less track,” he was quoted as saying by DailyMirror.lk. “When we asked why the grass was cut, they say they used the wrong blade. This has happened not once but twice. I notified the authorities but nothing happened. I am not saying we lost matches because of that but, when things don’t happen the way we want, the players lose confidence,” Malinga added.

The coaching staff

In his view, though they have a lot of coaches in the rank, more than the number it is important that the SLC hires the right people for the right job.

“We have a lot of coaches but we need to ask whether we have the right coaches,” he said. “And whether they are qualified enough to help the smooth transition of the players. For instance, if a player is going through a bad patch, the coach should be able to help him regain his confidence and come back strong,” the former Sri Lankan captain further expressed.