Rangana Herath urges SLC to revamp the domestic structure
Legendary left-arm spinner Rangana Herath urged Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to revamp the domestic cricket structure in order to revive the national team’s fortunes and to regain its glorious days where Sri Lanka was feared by almost all international sides.
Herath, who was the highest wicket-taker among left armers with 433 wickets, went on to say that a revamp in the domestic structure should be done if Sri Lanka cricket needs to develop, mainly, the next generation of spinners into the national team.
“Our domestic cricket structure must improve, if we are to compete against formidable teams. If you closely analyze our performances in all three formats it is fair to say that, we must improve in all three facets of the game. That’s why I urge that we should improve our standard in domestic cricket,” said Herath, who was critical on the wasted career of Jeffrey Vandersay.
Leg-spinner Vandersay represented his country during the ICC World Cup that was held in England last year, but was under-utilized.
“Jeffrey is a good bowler, but he needs to play regularly to showcase his talents and capabilities. For example, Bangladesh and India are using their spinners effectively and they got crucial wickets throughout the World Cup, but we don’t have the luxury of a quality spinner in our team.”
Herath was deeply concerned about the reluctance to use Vandersay at international games and he emphasized that it would be pointless to keep a player on the bench, as it may affect his confidence.
The former left-arm spinner also articulated his assessment on off-spinner Akila Dananjaya, whom he felt unfortunate to be suspended for the second time in his career. He also pointed out that coaches must monitor the progress of the bowlers frequently to prevent them from being called for an illegal action.
“As a country we thrive on spin bowling but still we are struggling to find a set of quality spinners to take Sri Lanka cricket forward. SLC should look into this problem deeply,” Herath noted.
“We have spinners such as Lasith Embuldeniya, Wanindu Hasaranga and Lakshan Sandakan in our national team. But the problem is that, they are inconsistent. The new coaching management led by Mickey Arthur has a lot of work ahead of them to revive the fortunes.”
Herath is currently involved in coaching and revealed that he has identified some talented spinners who could be useful for the future of Sri Lanka cricket. Herath also hinted on the fact that he could get involved to help out the spinners if SLC is willing to take his expertise to develop the next generation of spinners.
“If SLC needs my support, I’m more than willing to support them. But this is not all about extending the coaching staff. SLC has to take the responsibility to improve the domestic tournaments.”
Interestingly the world’s top wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan also made a similar plea, but was never approached by SLC. Muralitharan was, however, raked in by Cricket Australia during their tour to Sri Lanka in 2016 and plays a major role in the hugely popular Indian Premier League as a spin bowling coach.