Sri Lanka cricket needs to rediscover its identity, says Aravinda de Silva

Former Sri Lanka captain Aravinda de Silva recalled of the time people knew how the side used to play their game, which led to other teams wishing to emulate them. He added that it is something which isn’t there in the current Sri Lanka side.

Sri Lanka’s recent international assignment saw them beat India 2-1 in a bilateral ODI series for the first time in 27 years at home. But their next international series, starting on August 21, puts them up against an England Test side, who recently beat West Indies 3-0.

“That was Sri Lanka playing like no other side has done in history. We had an identity, people knew the way that Sri Lankan cricketers played the game and teams wanted to emulate that. I don’t think we have that at the moment,” said de Silva to inews.co.uk.

Apart from de Silva himself, Sri Lanka used to boast of heavy run-makers like Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara in their line-up till mid 2010s. But once the batting stalwarts retired, Sri Lanka haven’t got a belligerent batter since then.

De Silva thinks Sri Lanka batters should look to how England have fared with their attacking approach in Tests. “I’m enjoying the way that England are playing their cricket at the moment. They’re playing very, very attacking cricket – whether they’re bowling or batting, England are taking a really positive approach and it’s paying off. Winning in England is hard. But it’s certainly not impossible.”

Mickey Arthur, who worked as Sri Lanka’s head coach from 2019 to 2021, thinks current Sri Lanka team are a victim of their own past success. “They’re gifted cricketers, exciting cricketers. “There are so many ways and techniques among Sri Lankan cricketers that would get coached out in the western world. As a coach, you need to think outside the box.”

“You need to maintain what makes those players so special but try and make those techniques a little more solid at the same time. I think Sri Lanka were really a victim of their own success. They had such a settled side, with so many incredible players, that it was always going to be very difficult to move on once those guys had retired.”

“I suppose that what we’ve seen since, has been inevitable to a certain extent. What the players strive for in Sri Lanka is consistency. That’s consistency in the way they’re coached, consistency in selection and consistency in the environment around them. Once you get that, then you’ll get the best out of the player,” he said.

Arthur signed off by saying what Sri Lanka needs now is backing their game to succeed in Test cricket, for which he still sees passion in the country. “There are some non-negotiables in Test cricket and that’s having a technique you can trust, and having a technique that will stand up under pressure. Once you’ve got that, they can play in their own way. I always said to them that I wanted to give them the roots to grow and the wings to fly.”

“The wings to fly, is all about playing with your own technique in your own way and with your own character. If you look throughout history, then you’ll struggle to find any country’s cricketers who have done this as well as Sri Lanka’s.”

“What you learn when you work in Sri Lanka is the kind of passion that everyone involved in the sport has for Test cricket. Yes, the country has an incredible record in white-ball cricket, but the longest format is something that seen as being very, very precious. Kids in Sri Lanka still want to play Test cricket.”