Sri Lanka Cricket has made a shrewd decision by appointing former South African batter Neil McKenzie as the national team’s consultant coach for a short stint. McKenzie will join the Sri Lankan team in South Africa, where they will play a crucial two-match Test series.
Smart move by Sri Lanka
McKenzie’s expertise will provide valuable insights into the South African conditions, helping Sri Lankan players adapt to the challenge. His experience of scoring nearly 5,000 international runs for South Africa across formats will undoubtedly benefit the team. McKenzie will work with the Sri Lankan players from November 13th to 21st in a pre-series camp, providing crucial guidance ahead of the Test series. This smart move by Sri Lanka Cricket shows how important the series means for them.
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Inspired by Pakistan?
This move is reminiscent of Pakistan’s successful strategy when they appointed Jason Gillespie, their red-ball coach, as their white-ball coach too. Gillespie’s knowledge of Australian conditions helped Pakistan secure their first ODI series win in Australia after 22 years.
By hiring McKenzie, Sri Lanka has taken a similar approach. His familiarity with South African pitches and playing conditions will enable the team to better prepare for the upcoming Test series. This series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship Cycle for 2023-2025, making it a crucial encounter for Sri Lanka to stay in contention for a spot in the WTC final.
The SL squad taking part in the Pre-Series Camp
01. Dhananjaya De Silva 02. Dimuth Karunaratne 03. Angelo Mathews 04. Dinesh Chandimal 05. Lahiru Kumara 06. Prabath Jayasuriya 07. Nishan Peiris 08. Milan Rathnayake 09. Kasun Rajitha 10. Lasith Embuldeniya
