After Graham Ford resigned from Sri Lankan coach post, Nic Pothas has been named as the interim coach of the Sri Lankan Cricket team for the upcoming home tour of Zimbabwe starting from 30th June 2017. Sri Lanka will play 5 ODI matches and the only one T20 match.
Sri Lanka was knocked out of the group stage in the recently concluded Champions Trophy 2017. Nic Pothas who was a former South African wicketkeeper batsman. He was the fielding coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team from last August and will continue until the end of the Indian tour of Sri Lanka starting from July 26th. Pothas also was the academy director at Leicestershire County and the Director of Cricket at Guernsey.
Pothas was a part of the South African squad which played three ODI matches in 2000 as Mark Boucher got the nod as the wicketkeeper team while played for Hampshire, he scored more than 11,000 runs. He took 659 dismissals in 218 first class games.
“We have a strategic plan to engage the next coach and Nic Pothas is also a good contender for it,” Sumathipala said. “There are professional coaches who are currently engaged and shown a lot of interest and we are confident we will have one at the end of the Indian tour. We will not have to look too far to find somebody who will be competent to take this team to the 2019 World Cup.”
Sumathipala also said that there were also Sri Lanka Cricket coaches who have shown interest in the job but added, “we will have to first discuss with our cricket committee and our support team the plan and structure – what kind of coach that we are looking at. When we looked at Dav Whatmore he was a developing coach, he could develop an ordinary team to a world-class side. There are coaches very good at looking after professional advanced ongoing teams. We have to make an assessment of the situation and deploy the right person with the right spirit.”
After the retirement of Sri Lankan greats like Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene they have struggled as a team. The youngsters have got chances but not grabbed with both hands. If the Sri Lankan needs to win major tournaments the Sri Lankan govt and coaching staff need to take care, bring back glory days to the country.
