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Video: I will not bring politics to cricket: Marvan

26 Sep 2014 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

New Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu will look to build on the team’s recent success as he eyes glory at next year’s 50-overs World Cup in Australia.

Speaking at his maiden press conference since securing the full time job, Atapattu said his immediate focus was "to manage the players and get them peaking at the right time to have success in the 2015 World Cup".

“ The World Cup is our immediate focus," the 43-year-old veteran cricketer said. "We have had a good run in the past six months and obviously the challenge for me is to sustain the success and build on it."

The former Sri Lanka opener who became country’s first local coach in 15 years to land a full-time position admitted, however, that there was room for improvement.

“ I do not believe we have the edge simply because we have had success in last few series," he explained. "Of course our morale is high but we have to do a lot of work ourselves. We have got another 15 one-day games before we play the first game on the 15th of February."

Sri Lanka cricket has enjoyed a purple patch since winning the T20 World Cup in April as they lapped up series wins against England and Pakistan. But the team lost to world number one ranked South Africa while Atapattu was in charge.

“I have a group of players who are willing to learn and listen," he said. "Their utmost professionalism shows that they are always looking to improve. It’s up to us as a management group to manage these players and get them peaking at the right time for us to have success in the 2015 World Cup."

Sri Lanka will host England in a seven-match ODI series in November before playing away series against New Zealand ( two-match Test and seven-match ODI series) just weeks before the World Cup opener against New Zealand on February 14, 2015.

However, his task has been made difficult by uncertainty over two key bowlers- Lasith Malinga and Sachithra Senananayake.
Malinga has been ruled out for 16 weeks following surgery while Senanayake is serving an international ban for illegal action but Atapattu is hopeful of having both of them back in time for World Cup selection.

"All going well, we'll have Lasith's services around mid-January," he said. "Hopefully he can play a couple of one-dayers with New Zealand and the practice matches before he plays the actual tournament matches in the World Cup. Sachithra has done good work. He has done work locally with Piyal Wijetunge and Jerome Jayaratne. And he has also done work with the lab in Western Australia. Now it's a matter of him getting a date fixed to get it (action) retested."

Atapattu who was part of Sri Lanka’s World Cup winning team in 1996 said there must be more patience with young cricketers who are struggling make their mark.
“There’s a big gap between domestic cricket and international cricket, a big gap between school cricket and international matches. So it’s not easy to bridge that gap. Of course, we all know how good players like Lahiru Thirimanna and Dinesh Chandimal are and how fast they have developed their game.
But they have not been scoring.We shouldn’t panic, because they have developed. We have to try and give them a stable place, and maybe relieve them of some responsibility, and maintain patience with them.,” he added.

Atapattu also said he would have utmost transparency with all his dealings.

“ See, I am someone who likes to have everything transparent," he elaborated. "It’s easier to manage and then everyone knows which path we are taking. I do not wish to bring in any politics if at all and I do not believe it will be there because as a nation we strive towards one and we should be doing that." (Champika Fernando)

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Pix by Waruna Wanniarchchi

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Video: I will not bring politics to cricket: Marvan

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