'Rajasthan Royals Helped Us': SL's Interim Coach Jayasuriya on Preparation Ahead of IND Series

Interim Head Coach of the Sri Lankan side and legendary opening batter, Sanath Jayasuriya has revealed that their preparation ahead of the home white-ball series against India was assisted by Rajasthan Royals’ high-performance director, Zubin Bharucha who helped prepare the batters.

Jayasuriya revealed that the team had undergone a six-day camp with Bharucha despite some of the players coming in just after the Lanka Premier League.

“We just started the sessions just after the LPL. Most of the players are playing the LPL, so they were busy with cricket and what we wanted (for them) was to play cricket as much as possible,” he said.

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He added, “We got Zubin from Rajasthan Royals and we had about six days of work and also with the other cricketers who finished with the LPL. I hope the players have learnt what you (management) wanted to do in terms of practice and their technique.”

While Jayasuriya recognises that the Indian team is stacked with talent, he expects to see his side take advantage of the absence of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja who have retired from the shortest format of the game.

“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the best players in the world. Looking at their talent and the kind of cricket they have played we all know where they belong, along with Jadeja,” Jayasuriya was quoted as saying by Associated Press during a press meet.

“Their absence will be a loss to the Indian team and we have to take maximum advantage of that,” he added.

The 55-year-old remains hopeful that the players can get themselves back on top and the Head Coach has stated that the side has done all the work with their training side of things.

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“It is up to the players, we have been doing all the work in terms of practice, we have given training, and we have got the best coaches. I think Sri Lanka Cricket has provided most of the things and now it is up to the players,” he said.

“For the present cricketers to come to that level, we have been doing all the necessary work and I hope in next two years there will be a lot of development in these boys,” the batting great added.

The batting legend has asked the Sri Lankan fans for some patience as the side is working on their deficiencies and has backed the players to perform well.

(with PTI Inputs)