Just like when he batted for his team, Sanath Jayasuriya checkmated his employer Sri Lanka Cricket and forced the think-tanks living on borrowed time to have him as their official head coach after showing them results on the board bringing to an end the hunt for a foreign expert to motivate the current crop of players.
Unable to enlist a foreign coach for multiple reasons, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) was forced to give in to the stop-gap incumbent coach Jayasuriya and what common cricket followers will not know is how much of a package was offered to retain the former destroyer of bowlers.
Social media had been awash with speculation that Jayasuriya realizing he had a price on his head after he raised the fortunes of the team over the past two months had demanded that SLC also pays a successful local coach what is usually paid to a foreign expert.
“There are a lot of Leagues played all over the world and most of the good (foreign) coaches are involved. They showed interest but did not want to come on a full time basis.
“Sanath (Jayasuriya) showed good results and we thought it was best to go with a local coach”, said SLC’s Chief Executive Ashley de Silva.
As an interim coach Jayasuriya this year filled the void left by England’s Chris Silverwood leaving room for SLC to enlist a foreign coach, but with the successful winning of last month’s two-Test home series against New Zealand his contract received full official recognition until March 2026.
The former south paw pinch-hitter said he did nothing extraordinary to raise the fortunes of the team other than tell the players to do exactly what he did that drove fear into rival teams.
“We have our own way of playing Sri Lanka cricket. I gave them (team) the license to play their natural game. That ball is there to be hit and I gave the players the confidence and freedom to do that”, said Jayasuriya who smashed 21,000 runs against international opposition.
Jayasuriya is also thought to have played a straight bat in thrashing out the numbers on his pay-cheque with SLC, but was taken aback and grinningly passed the ball to De Silva when a journalist asked him to explain what took place behind closed doors.
De Silva defended SLC claiming there were no issues in ironing out Jayasuriya’s contract.
“We offered something similar to what we offer a foreign coach. I cannot say whether it is higher or lower (in amount). Sanath (Jayasuriya) is not a person who looks at money when it comes to doing his job and there was no dispute over his contract. He accepted what we offered him”, said De Silva in response.
He refused to reveal how much.
