Sanath Jayasuriya has said that the Indian cricket team will feel the absence of senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming T20I series.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s T20I retirement
Sri Lanka’s Interim Head coach Sanath Jayasuriya has disclosed that Zubin Bharucha, Rajasthan Royals’ high-performance director, has assisted his batters in preparing for the T20 series against India.
He also expects Sri Lanka to take advantage of the retirements of experienced Virat and Rohit. Following India’s T20 World Cup triumph last month, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja have announced their T20I retirement.
“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are the best players in the world. Looking at their talent and the kind of cricket they have played we all know where they belong, along with Jadeja. Their absence will be a loss to the Indian team and we have to take maximum advantage of that,” said Jayasuriya.
However, Jayasuriya has disclosed that Sri Lanka players have trained with Bharucha for six days. “We just started the sessions just after the LPL. Most of the players are playing in the LPL, so they were busy with cricket and what we wanted was to play cricket as much as possible,” he said.
“The preparation was good and we have two more days in Kandy before the T20 starts. It is important to learn as international cricketers new techniques, new approaches, and shot-making to be effective.”
In the T20 internationals, India has named Suryakumar Yadav as their new T20I captain. Jayasuriya acknowledged the team’s challenges and urged them to seize the opportunity. After Sri Lanka’s elimination in the group stages, Wanindu Hasaranga stepped down from Captaincy.
Chris Silverwood and Mahela Jayawardene have also issued their resignations. Regarding Sri Lanka’s current situation, Jayasuriya hopes that the players can improve themselves personally.
“It is up to the players, we have been doing all the work in terms of practice, we have given training, we have given training, we have got the best coaches. I think Sri Lanka Cricket has provided most of the things and now it is up to the players,” he said.
“For the present cricketers to come to that level, we have been doing all the necessary work and I hope in the next two years there will be a lot of development in these boys. We need to give a little bit of time. I know, for the cricket-loving public it is frustrating sometimes but be patient, and give us time, we are working on it. It is really hard work on it. It is really hard work on it with the players and they will do well.”
“We have enough talent. What we want is to go out in the middle and deliver. It is not easy, we know that. We have delivered when we were playing and now the time has come, people are waiting for this present team to perform, and with what we are doing at the moment they will deliver very soon,” concluded Jayasuriya.
The tour will start with the T20I leg on July 27 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Rohit and Virat Kohli will return for the ODI format, as the ODI leg starts on August 02.
