The former Sri Lankan captain, Kumar
Sangakkara, wants a Sri Lankan coaching unit and feels the island nation
has the best opportunity to appoint a home-grown mentor.
The 33-year-old wicketkeeper batsman reckoned former Sri Lanka opener, and currently the assistant coach of New South Wales, Chandika Hathurusingha, as an ideal candidate for the high profile post.
"I think we have a great opportunity to have a
completely Sri Lankan coaching unit. That will be amazing if we can do
it," said Sangakkara while talking to the media reporters on the eve of
his 100th Test match.
"And we've had candidates the calibre of Chandika Hathurusingha, who is now the assistant coach for New South Wales. He has been a great loss to us,” he added further.
Sangakkara, a stylish top order batsman, has played mostly under foreign coaches, including Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss; however he is keen to see a Lankan mentor taking the role full time.
The wicketkeeper batsman praised Hathurusingha and Rumesh Ratnayake
for their contribution to Sri Lankan cricket and stressed that the
veterans could be extremely capable coaches if given a chance.
“...these two people have shown we have the
quality in Sri Lanka to have a completely local coaching unit which we
can be proud of, and second to none in the world,” insisted Sangakkara.
The former Lankan skipper however, won’t have any issues if the SLC administration and the current captain of the side, Tillakaratne Dilshan, decided to bring in an overseas coach. He said that list of candidates shortlisted for the
coveted role includes names of many excellent coaches from around the world who have great records and have proven themselves.
The prolific top order batsman revealed that Graham Ford, Geoff Marsh
and many others are in the running for the position, adding that the
inclusion of any one of them would be a great addition to Sri Lanka
cricket.
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