T20 World Cup- Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka & Co aim to benefit from Mahela Jayawardena– Sri Lanka cricket captain Dasun Shanaka is banking on former skipper Mahela Jayawardene’s tactical brilliance and the team’s youthful exuberance to make the playoffs of the Twenty20 World Cup, the all-rounder said on Saturday. Follow T20 World Cup live updates on insidesport.in and live streaming on Star Sports, Hotstar.
T20 World Cup- Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka & Co aim to benefit from Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardena
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The 2014 champions Sri Lanka have roped in Jayawardene as a consultant for the preliminary round, hoping to benefit from the experience of a coach who has overseen Mumbai Indians’ three successful Indian Premier League (IPL) campaigns.
- Mahela Jayawardena guided Mumbai Indians to three IPL titles
- As a player, he helped Sri Lanka win the 2014 T20 World Cup, the only T20WC title for the country.
- Jayawardena retired as a legend of Sri Lanka Cricket with over 10,000 runs in both ODIs and Test Cricket.
“He’s been amazing over the years,” Shanaka told a media session ahead of their first match against Namibia on Monday.
“Tactically, he is the best in the business. He’s been a real asset for all of us.”
Sri Lanka are still in the throes of a tricky transition following the retirements of stalwarts like Kumar Sangakkara and Jayawardene.
Shanaka conceded their performance, especially over the last two years, were not “up to the mark” but has big expectations from his young side.
“The strength of our squad is very good…We got that potential to go to the Super 12 and make the playoffs. I don’t feel any pressure, I feel confident.”
Shanaka said winning the 2014 title was “one of the greatest moments” in Sri Lanka’s cricketing history.
“I feel the youngsters have got the same potentials. The only thing they lack is experience. If they perform to their strength, we can go a long away in this tournament.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan legend Aravinda de Silva further admitted that most coaches and selectors do not have enough T20 experience, but Jayawardene has been a top player and head coach for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
“We wanted him to spend some time and talk about the situations, how to handle those situations. These young boys need to understand all those and how they should be approached in a certain situation.”
T20 World Cup- Sri Lanka: Dasun Shanaka & Co aim to benefit from Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardena
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(with inputs from AFP, Reuters)
