Ratnayake appointed interim Head Coach, as Hathurusingha saga drags on

By Madushka Balasuriya

Rumesh Ratnayake will take over as interim Head Coach of the Sri Lankan national team, Sri Lanka Cricket revealed yesterday, becoming the twelfth man to take over the role in the last eight years. Ratnayake, who currently heads up the fast bowling unit at the SLC high performance centre, was one of Sri Lanka’s fastest bowlers in the 1980s, having played 23 Tests and 70 ODIs between 1982 to 1993, picking up 73 wickets in that time.

Outgoing Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha meanwhile remains under contract with SLC, one which ends in December 2020, though his removal has been mooted for several months now. However, the hefty compensation due to him in the case of early termination is understood to be a sticking point for SLC; as such, the Board are currently examining all available legal options. 

“We will take legal advice and proceed, but we’ll have to see what the ultimate cost is,” stated SLC President Shammi Silva at a media briefing yesterday. “We have to decide if we want to keep losing in cricket and save a large amount of money, or do we win matches and lose a large amount of money. It’s one of those two choices that we have to make, but our main concern is ensuring our standard of cricket improves.”

Hathurusingha’s tenure has been a difficult one for Sri Lanka Cricket; since he was appointed to the role in late 2017, Sri Lanka have lost seven of their last 16 Test matches, seven of their last 12 T20Is, and 24 of their last 39 ODIs under his leadership. Recent results, though, have pointed to an upturn in form, one of which was a historic Test series victory in South Africa, and more recently a comprehensive ODI series whitewash against Bangladesh.

Hathurusingha’s case is also strengthened by the fact that Sri Lanka’s track record in the years preceding his appointment were not that much better in terms of results or performance. In fact, Sri Lanka’s last home series win had come in 2015, the lean period which had incidentally forced SLC’s hand in appointing Hathurusingha, who at the time was at the peak of his popularity, having overseen a radical turnaround in the fortunes of the Bangladesh national team. 

Aside from the poor overall results, SLC is also understood to have taken umbrage at Hathurusingha’s supposedly brash attitude during his time in charge, which has seen the former Bangladesh coach fallout with several players and staff in recent months. At the height of this issue, midway through Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa earlier this year, SLC CEO Ashley De Silva had flown in for crisis talks. However with the World Cup around the corner, SLC deemed it prudent to wait until after the tournament to take any long-term decisions.

“When we came to power, we didn’t have time to think about the World Cup. We had about one and a half to two months, so we continued with the existing coach. We wanted to make some changes earlier, but the World Cup was too close. Now we have thought that we have to do something,” noted Silva.

“Even though I was part of the Board that recruited Hathurusingha there were some mistakes that we made. Going forward if we want to do right by our cricket, we need to rectify our past mistakes, and that is what we’re trying to do now.” 

Asked to elaborate, however, he played his cards close to his chest.

“We have prepared in terms of legal matters on how to proceed in terms of terminating his contract. Going forward it will became clear to you [the media] what we plan on doing.”

As things stand, SLC have been directed by Sports Minister Harin Fernando to renegotiate Hathurusingha’s contract. This was the thinking behind Fernando asking Hathurusingha to resign immediately after the World Cup. It was then the impasse between Hathurusingha and SLC in this regard which led to Fernando directing SLC to not appoint Hathurusingha as coach for the upcoming series against New Zealand. According to Silva, SLC have sent a letter of demand to Hathurusingha in this regard, and are awaiting his response.

“We have given Chandika a letter, and we will wait for 14 days for him to respond, and after that period we will take action,” he confirmed.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that this latest bout of back and forth has come amidst Sri Lanka’s most impressive string of performances in recent memory. From their World Cup win against eventual champions England, to a series whitewash against Bangladesh, and the unearthing of some fresh young talent, Sri Lanka has seemingly stumbled upon a winning formula.

It is also hard to put down merely as coincidence that this purple patch has coincided with the installation of Dimuth Karunaratne as permanent captain in all formats, a player who has seemingly served as a buffer between an abrasive coach and an apprehensive squad. 

But with the coach and the Board on a collision course, while Sri Lanka Cricket’s woes on the pitch are lifting, the unlikely union behind the team’s recent success is quite possibly unwittingly being pulled apart.