SLC announces fitness and conditioning program for squad ahead of Zimbabwe, India tours

Sri Lanka Cricket announced that it had established a high-profile evaluation and monitoring committee headed by Asanka Gurusinha to oversee the physical fitness and conditioning of the national performance squad ahead of their upcoming campaigns against Zimbabwe and India in Colombo.

The move comes in the wake of Sri Lanka’s exit in the quarterfinal stage of the Champions Trophy 2017, where they lost to eventual champions Pakistan in a nail-biting game on 12 June.

In a statement released by Sri Lanka Cricket, Team Manager Asanka Gurusinha stated: “We know how much resources and effort were invested in the team ahead of the CT17, and we know how much effort each and every player made both on and off the field – but we have to face the reality that we were just not good enough on the day, and look to the reasons behind this.”

Despite the heroic win against India in the group stages of the competition, the fitness levels of the Sri Lankan players were called into question due to several on field injuries that required the intervention of the team physio. “We have had several internal discussions with the coaches, trainers, the selectors, and the players themselves, and we all agree that there is a disparity in our fitness levels. We have incredibly talented cricketers, with the passion and the commitment to fly the flag on high – but they are not quite cricketing athletes, which is where we need to be,” he stated.

Gurusinha further added that the national selectors had met on 16 June and had selected a provisional squad of 30 players who will undergo rigorous testing and evaluation this week, and will only make it into the squads for the Zimbabwe and India tours provided they meet the required grading.

The initial testing of the 30-member provisional squad was conducted last morning under the supervision of SLC HP Training and Rehabilitation Manager Nirmalan Thanabalasingham who commented: “The Sri Lanka Cricket High Performance Sports Medicine and Sports Science Department are running a battery of fitness tests encompassing body composition, speed, power and endurance. We will provide this information to the selectors to help guide their decision-making but more importantly give players a plan to improve areas of concern in a realistic timeframe.”

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekera, earlier this week, stated that in the past, some players had been allowed to play even though they were not at peak physical condition and that he intended on putting an end to that culture.

He went on to accuse some of the squad members of being unfit while suggesting that they prioritised their IPL careers over their duties to the national team. The Minister singled out veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga in his comments which elicited an angry retort from the fast bowler as reported by some media outlets. Despite some player scepticism, the SLC, along with the Minister, has paid serious attention to the issue of fitness for the upcoming tournaments.

The committee, which has formulated strict evaluation criteria, is comprised of Chairman National Selection Committee Sanath Jayasuriya, Team Manager Asanka Gurusinha, Chairman SLC Medical Panel Prof. Arjuna de Silva, High Performance Manager Simon Willis, Rehabilitation Manager Nirmalan Thanabalasingham and National Trainer Nicholas Lee.