Sri Lanka ‘under-prepared’ for South Africa tour

Sri Lanka will head to South Africa without playing any red-ball cricket for at least four months. With most of the Test players set to feature in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), their preparations will be further hampered.

The two-match Test series starts on December 26 at Super Sport Park in Centurion. It is Sri Lanka’s first international assignment since hosting the West Indies in February. This will be followed by the second Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg in the new year (Jan 3-7).

But the tourists are going into the series under-prepared, with little or no time to train, due to the franchise-based domestic T20 league scheduled to begin this month.

“We will be terribly under-prepared,” an official said, requesting anonymity.

“They need at least four weeks of training for the series. Due to LPL, they will hardly have any time. This is a big worry ahead of a tough series.”

While it is largely agreed that hosting a domestic T20 league will help cricketers improve their skills, the timing is of concern as it leaves the players not quite ready for Test cricket, a format that demands much more commitment, resilience and mental toughness.

The series against the Proteas is significant, not only because it is Sri Lanka’s first international assignment in 10 months, but because they will go in with a reputation to maintain. They beat South Africa comprehensively 2-0 the last time. It was a historic feat no other Sri Lankan team had ever achieved.

To help, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is planning short training for its red-ball cricketers starting later this week.

“Now that the LPL has been pushed back by a few days, we have decided to put the Test squad through residential training beforehand,” said Ashley de Silva, SLC Chief Executive.

It is a desperate move which is unlikely to help players seeking to replicate their 2019 heroics. Their most recent red-ball cricket experience was through the domestic Super Fours tournament in August. While training continued in anticipation of a Bangladesh series last month, the tour was cancelled and training suspended.

Meanwhile, the South African cricketers are sharpening their skills at a first-class tournament being played currently in preparation for the series.

Although naming the squad has been delayed with no selectors in place, the Board will ask prospective players to join the training from November 14. The Sports Ministry has not yet appointed cricket selectors.

“The training here will go ahead for around 10 days and while those who are involved with the LPL will join their respective teams thereafter, others will continue to train with the national coaches,” de Silva explained.

The LPL is finally set to see the light of the day on November 26, having been postponed several times due to the pandemic. The final of the 23-match tournament is set for December 16. All matches will be played in Hambantota in contrast to the earlier plan of shifting to Pallekele for the second leg. De Silva said the national team will leave for the South Africa Test series on December 17, leaving players just a week to prepare.

“Once they land, they could start training probably after two days which gives them around a good week of training to acclimatise to the conditions,” de Silva said.