If I’m not wrong, a few years ago, we all thought that this was the end of Sri Lankan Cricket. The country’s economy was in crisis, the board couldn’t afford the full salary to their players, and god knows what else.
There are many cricketers who once retire, think that their responsibility towards the nation and cricket is completed. But this is not the case for a legendary Sri Lankan batsman! Any guesses who? None other than Sanath Jayasuriya.
It’s not like the cricketing history of this nation is passable. They are the second-most-successful team in Asia after India. They have won 3 ICC trophies in total- 1996 ODI WC, 2002 Champions Trophy (Co-champions with India) and 2014 T20 World Cup. However, after the retirement of legends like Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshan, and Malinga, this team has never been the same. But someone has to come forward and be the saviour, right?
The Downfall of Sri Lankan Cricket
Almost 6 months ago, the condition of this cricketing nation was at its lowest. The management was not on point; there were many senior and deserving players who were dropped from the team.
- In the 2023 ODI World Cup, they only won 2/9 matches
- Bowled out for 50 in the Asia Cup and on 55 in the 2023 WC
- Not even a single ODI series win against India for more than 27 years
- Eliminated from the 1st round of the 2024 T20 World Cup
- Didn’t even qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy
- Even lost a few matches against team like Bangladesh
The condition was so bad that their head coach, Chris Silverwood, stepped down from his position, and no one was willing to take the responsibility for this team.
Sanath Jayasuriya- The Man Behind the Rise of Sri Lankan Cricket
Legends like Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan are busy coaching major IPL teams for money and fame. Still, they didn’t show any interest in coaching their national team at its lowest. Enter Superman! Sanath Jayasuriya, who has tremendous records as an opening batter for Sri Lanka, came forward and was dedicated enough to help his nation come out of this misery.
Under the coach Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka:
- Won their 1st ODI series against India after 27 years (2-0)
- Won a test against England in England
- Won 2-0 home Test series against New Zealand
- Won the ODI series against Australia
- Are unbeaten in this 2026 T20 World Cup and one of the favorites to lift this title for the 2nd time.
We all just focus on results, but are never interested in how he did that. Let’s now dive into that process.
The first thing he did was start taking U19 and domestic cricket seriously. Then he brought back all the deserving senior players into the team and even backed them. The guy was so dedicated that he even met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked for his help to improve the infrastructure of Sri Lankan Cricket.
India’s Role in the Rise of Sri Lankan Cricket
Sanath himself said that he will never forget the role of 2 Indians in this brilliant phase of Sri Lanka. R Sridhar, who was the fielding coach of India, is currently coaching Sri Lanka, and Vikram Rathore, who was coaching India till 2024, is the batting coach of this unit. We all have witnessed what a fabulous job they are doing in this World Cup. Jayasuriya is getting all the praise he deserves, but we should also not forget the role of these two Indians in Sri Lanka’s improved performance.
Final Words
As cricket fanatics, we all want more competition in this game, and a team like Sri Lanka with such a rich history of cricket deserves all this praise. There’s a bad phase of every team, and as true cricket fans, we should never fail to support such teams. Sri Lanka has qualified for the Super 8 and looks invincible. They are going to present very tough challenges against India as well. Let’s see how Sri Lankan cricket grows further from here.
