Simon Willis resigns as Sri Lanka’s high-performance manager

The Sri Lankan team is currently touring Bangladesh for a two-match Test and T20I series. The Lankans managed to win the Test series 1-0 and will play the first T20I game on 15th February. The team has been garnering some heavy criticism recently for their dismal performances and is still recovering from a rough patch. Further, they are finding it difficult to discover a long-term prospect as the team’s captain.

Recently, Chandika Hathurasingha was appointed as the head coach of the team to help them improve their performances. However, Hathurasingha might require more time to find the best possible combinations for the team. But, adding to their woes, the high-performance manager Simon Willis resigned from the position as well.

Will serve a six-month notice period

Willis handed his resignation to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), less than two years into a three-year contract. It is reported that he has decided to hand his resignation due to personal reasons. However, Willis will serve a six-month notice period and could serve the team till June.

“Simon has given us six months notice and as such will remain with Sri Lanka Cricket until June 30,” an SLC official said. “We will, therefore, be advertising for the position,” ESPN Cricinfo quoted. SLC hopes to bring in his replacement at least two months prior to the end of his term, so as to ensure a smooth transition.

In the modern day cricket, a high-performance analyst plays a crucial role behind the scenes. They are highly experienced sports scientists who specialize in overseeing a team’s sports science/sports medicine services. They have advanced skills and knowledge which are applied to lead programs for high performance, elite and professional sports and athletes.

Willis’ recruitment was spearheaded by Aravinda de Silva – in his then capacity as SLC cricket committee chairman. He was recruited especially for the newly created role of a high-performance manager in June 2015. His role was to oversee Sri Lanka‘s cricket academy, as well play a key role in identifying and developing young talent.