Lankan cricketers prioritise IPL careers over national duty: Dayasiri

By Uditha Jayasinghe 

Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday criticised certain Sri Lankan cricketers who he claimed gave India priority and not the national team.

In the latest chapter of the fitness dispute between the ministers and the cricketers, Jayasekera said that some cricketers undergo fitness programs in Sri Lanka but then play in India and not for the Sri Lanka team.

“They go to play in India for the money,” the Minister said. The Sports Minister was referring to some Sri Lankan cricketers deciding to play for the IPL in India as opposed to giving priority to the national team.

Speaking at the Cabinet media briefing, Jayasekera said that in future, the Sri Lanka cricket team will be picked based on fitness. He also claimed that even though it was mandatory for cricketers to pass a fitness test before playing a match, they were not necessarily rejected if their physical conditioning was not up to par.

“I want to end this. I want to make it mandatory, that no matter how in form they are, if a cricketer does not pass the fitness test, then they don’t get to play. I will not approve it. If they want to play, then they must pass their fitness test. What kind of message are we sending future players? We need to change this trend,” he said. The Minister pointed out that in other countries, the fitness of players is assured at school and amateur level, and as a result, they face fewer injuries when they break into the professional level. However, in Sri Lanka, players are not groomed to pay attention to their fitness and make it their priority, and as such, suffer from injuries or do not have the stamina to play long innings. Coaches are key to changing this mindset, insisted the Minister who also outlined plans to select 500-1000 coaches every year and send them for training, to understand the importance of fitness and to ensure their players are performing at their peak physical level.

“Can our players be like Shikhar Dhawan? He scored 125 runs and then turned around and kept wicket for 50 overs,” he said, referring to the Indian top rung batsman. “Can our fellows do that? Malinga needs to be able to bowl for 10 overs not four overs. Our players score 25 runs and then tear something. After that, the physio has to be on the ground every over to tend to him. This is unacceptable.”