Sri Lankan sports minister advises board to sack Chandika Hathurusingha-led coaching staff
Sri Lanka Sports Minister Harin Fernando has written a letter to SLC, requesting the board to sack the coaching staff led by Chandika Hathurusingha. However, SLC secretary Mohan de Silva has replied that the decision must be mindful of Sri Lanka's bad reputation of hiring and firing coaches.
After a successful stint with Bangladesh in 2017, Sri Lanka Cricket hired Hathurusingha and put on the onus on his shoulder to resurrect the team from the abyss but the team failed to come back to their glory days, with sacking the captains becoming a regular Lankan activity. Once they finalized Dimuth Karunaratne for the role, they thought it would help Sri Lanka but the team was eliminated in the group stage at the World Cup after winning only three of nine matches.
After the disastrous campaign, Sri Lanka sports minister Harin Fernando sent a letter to SLC, asking the cricket board to replace the coaching staff. However, Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Mohan de Silva said any decision must be mindful of the board’s bad reputation of hiring and firing coaches in recent times.
"But we know this is a complex problem because we are dealing with professionals. We know Sri Lanka has a bad reputation that we have hired and fired coaches over the past so many years. We know our responsibilities and we also can't go against the minister's recommendations,” de Silva said.
De Silva further added that contractual obligations with the coaches must also be respected and a final decision on the matter will be taken by the board's executive committee.