Sanath Jayasuriya Has An Appeal Before The Sri Lanka vs India ODI Series

Sri Lanka, a cricketing island nation, has been engaged in a limited-overs series against Team India over the past week. After a clean sweep by the Men In Blue in the T20I format, the performance of the Sri Lankan team has come under scrutiny from various cricket experts and legends. Sanath Jayasuriya, the interim head coach of Sri Lanka, expressed his disappointment with the team's recent showing. Jayasuriya, a former captain and cricketing icon, acknowledged that the team’s performance had fallen short of expectations, resonating with the frustration of Sri Lankan cricket fans. He conceded that fans have every right to voice their discontent regarding the T20I series results. However, he urged them to remain supportive of the team despite the setbacks.

Jayasuriya emphasized that the players have been working diligently and are committed to improving their performance. He stressed the importance of backing the team as they prepare for the upcoming ODI series. Despite the recent failures, he called on fans to offer wholehearted support to the national side, underscoring that their encouragement is crucial for the team’s morale and future success.

"I see the players putting in an enormous amount of effort. I appeal to the fans to come to the ground and support the team during the ODIs," said Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya ahead of the 1st ODI against India. 

In the final T20I of the series, Sri Lanka's middle order faltered at a critical juncture. The team had been cruising towards the target with ease, but late breakthroughs by Indian spinners disrupted their momentum. Despite managing to push the match into a Super Over, the Lankan batters struggled to find form and could only set a modest target of three runs for Team India.

Reflecting on the match, interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya expressed his disappointment, noting that the game should not have reached the Super Over. At one point, after the 15th over, Sri Lanka needed just 30 runs from 30 balls, making the collapse all the more frustrating. Jayasuriya highlighted that the middle order's failure to capitalize on a favorable position was a significant setback, impacting the outcome of the match and the series.

"The third game should never have gone to a Super Over. As coaches, you can tell stuff but handling pressure is for those out in the middle. We are aware that part-time bowlers (Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav) had got those crucial wickets. It is disappointing," Jayasuriya continued.

 "Kusal Perera from the middle had made a gesture to send a right-hander in. His intentions of letting us know that a right-hander was needed is correct. We were prepared for the routine batting line-up. But when the set batter sends a message you need to listen to that. I would have been happier had Kusal Perera finished it off," he further added.

Furthermore, Sanath Jayasuriya stated that the young Sri Lankan side have a plethora of skills and talent along with commitment. Hence looking at the present scenario, It was not that the national side cannot compete fiercely at the international level. As per his observations, the players have opted for some poor shot selection and they have failed to soak in the pressure situations in the recently concluded T20I series.

Notably, he cited the example of the top-order talented batter Kusal Perera. The former legendary Sri Lanka opener pointed out that Perera had batted for a long time in the net sessions. Hence they have been following a strict regime when it comes to practice. Hence there was no question of lack of commitment.