"We spend huge amounts to import garbage coaches" - Arjuna Ranatunga feels Sri Lankan team is wasting local talent
Former Sri Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga did not mince his words while talking about the sorry state of affairs in cricket in the country at the moment. The World Cup-winning captain slammed Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for the recent failures of the team across all formats.
Ranatunga stated that the team's poor outings in recent times were partly because of the 'garbage' foreign coaches. He believes the SLC are ignoring local talent in the coaching department.
"We spend huge amounts to import garbage coaches," Ranatunga said as reported by the Times of India.
While Arjuna Ranatunga didn't name anyone, it should be noted the Mickey Arthur is currently the head coach of the team. Moreover, SLC recently appointed Tom Moody as a consultant and has tasked him with rebuilding the national team.
SLC notably sacked Chandika Hasaranga, a Sri Lankan coach, following the side's exit from the 2019 World Cup 2019 in the league stages. Hasaranga worked with the national team for little over a year.
Sri Lanka's coaching talent going abroad as there is no recognition at home: Arjuna Ranatunga
Arjuna Ranatunga pities the Sri Lankan coaching talent, who are forced to go abroad because of the lack of recognition in the country.
The 57-year-old cited the likes of Aravinda de Silva, Mahela Jayawardene and Marvan Atapattu, who have all excelled in coaching roles while working overseas.
"There is good (coaching) talent in the country, but they are going abroad because there is no recognition for them at home," stated Arjuna Ranatunga.
Earlier in the day, Arjuna Ranatunga celebrated the silver jubilee of the 1996 World Cup victory along with Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sri Lanka are currently the 7th-ranked team in the ICC Test cricket rankings and are ranked 8th in the ODIs list. They are in 10th place in the T20I rankings.
Ever since their legendary cricketers have retired, Sri Lanka has found it tough to rebuild a strong squad. There have been a few uplifting performances like the Test series win in South Africa, but the team has lacked consistency for long periods.
The Sri Lanka team is currently touring West Indies. After losses in the T20Is and the ODIs, the team is set to play a two-match Test series starting from March 21st.