Sanath Jayasuriya resigns as the Chairman of Selectors from SLC

Image from BBC

Dear Sir,

With the term for selectors coming to an end, I wish to tender my resignation from the post of Chairman Selectors SLC.

The game of cricket will always be an integral part of my life as it has been ever since I was a school boy. I am thankful that I got the opportunity to serve Srilanka Cricket in the capacity of Chairman Selectors after having served my country for many years as a player and captain in the national team. The highs and lows of the game will always be a part of cricket.

I am extremely proud and happy that during my tenure Srilanka was able to emerge World champions in T20, win the Asia Cup and a long awaited series against England as well as emerge semifinalists in The Champions Trophy. These are milestones the Srilanka cricket team including the entire selection committee and coaching staff worked extremely hard for.These are some of the achievements that we can be proud of as Srilankans.

I would also like to place on record my Thanks to the previous Minister of Sports Mahindananda Aluthgamage for his support in helping me to fulfill my duties independently. I have given of my best to serve in the capacity of Chairman selectors during my tenure.

I am always available if Srilanka cricket needs me to serve the country in the future.

I take this opportunity of wishing the National team and Srilanka cricket all success in their future endeavors.

Yours Sincerely

Sanath Jayasuriya

Cricket: Sri Lanka blames fitness for World Cup flop

Sri Lankan cricketing authorities blamed a lack of fitness and the poor form of the side's top order batsmen for failing to progress beyond the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Chief Selector Sanath Jayasuriya -- a member of Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup-winning team -- said officials will draw up new standards to ensure better fitness and take "hard decisions" about players who were below par.

"This (fitness) is an area we need to address and take hard decisions about players who don't meet the new standards we will set," Jayasuriya said, in a post-mortem of Sri Lanka's failure.

Injury-prone Sri Lanka was kicked out of the tournament after losing to South Africa by nine wickets in the quarterfinals on March 18.

Jayasuriya said five players -- Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dhammika Prasad, Jeevan Mendis and Rangana Herath -- had to be replaced during the tournament because of injuries.

Skipper Angelo Mathews, meanwhile, said he was disappointed with the top order batting that led to the defeat against South Africa.

"We did well in the first six matches, but then our top order batting failed," Mathews said.

Coach Marvan Atapattu said Sri Lanka was not considered favourites, but he nevertheless expected the team to make it to the semifinals.

"They have performed below my expectations," he said.

"I thought we could win a quarter final. From there on, we would have had a good chance."

Atapattu took over the team as its coach in September after Englishman Paul Farbrace abruptly quit months earlier to become deputy coach of England.

Sana Boy takes full responsibility for the Indian annihilation!

The chairman of selectors Sanath Jayasuriya has taken responsibility for Sri Lanka's 0-5 thrashing in India following the sudden decision to make the tour.
Jayasuriya, who is the Deputy Minister of Sports, was addressing the Parliament on the Sports Ministry's budgetary allocations.
"There is no need to blame the Sports Minister and all others, I take the responsibility," Jayasuriya said.
This was to be the first Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) reaction to the drubbing by India.
Jayasuriya, at the outset of the tour, told local media that the selection panel was looking forward to a good showing from fringe players in the Sri Lanka squad ahead of the 2015 World Cup starting in February.
Jayasuriya's former skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, another Parliamentarian, had earlier held the entire cricket hierarchy including the Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and skipper Angelo Mathews responsible for the unprecedented 5-0 thrashing. He said the result would have a demoralising effect on the team's World Cup preparations.
When the SLC made the decision to agree to tour as a stopgap arrangement for the West Indies' pull out, murmurs were raised over the alleged arbitrary action of the SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga in what was seen as an action to please BCCI.
The local media reacted to the disastrous results with screaming headlines such as 'RIP Sri Lanka Cricket', 'Whitewashed'.  (PTI)

JAYASURIYA SAYS SERIES LOSS IS “A BAD DREAM”

Chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya says the side’s ODI series loss in India is “a bad dream” and he expects the side to bounce back in the forthcoming matches against England.

Sri Lanka will host England for a seven-match ODI series, which starts in Colombo from November 26.

Jayasuriya admitted that a second-string bowling attack and the inability of the top order to score big runs were the main factors behind the heavy defeats in India.

He said “I was not expecting miracles for Sri Lanka to win the series in India and all that kind of thing. What I expected was good, competitive cricket”.

According to Jayasuriya, the series defeat could end up as a blessing in disguise coming before a World Cup as the team still had ample time to improve their performances and start peaking in time for the tournament in February-March 2015.

Jayasuriya was hopeful the team could recover from the negative impact of the India series before their matches against England: “There will be some negativity after the losses but history shows that we have gone to India and got thrashed and have come back and done well most of the time. We need to get our confidence back from here onwards and have an idea of what the World Cup squad is going to be.”