Sri Lanka Cricket has roped in Grant Luden to their coaching staff ahead of the two Test series against England. South African Luden has worked with several international teams and will function as SLC’s trainer. SLC sources said that Luden was set to join in November last year, but his recruitment was delayed due to the pandemic.
Luden entered the Sri Lankan team’s bubble in South Africa and arrived in the island in the chartered flight that carried the Sri Lankan team and he is at present in Galle with the team.
Luden is credited for raising Pakistan’s fielding standards as they went onto win the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. During his time in Pakistan, he doubled up as Fielding and Conditioning Coach working alongside current Head Coach Mickey Arthur.
SLC sources said that Luden’s ‘tough guy’ reputation was one main reason for them to hire him. There have been question marks about Sri Lankan cricketers’ fitness standards in the last five years. The issue came to the attention of the Sports Ministry as well in 2017. Guidelines were issued by the Ministry to the national selection panel indicating minimum fitness standards for selection. This resulted in a run-in between then Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara and Lasith Malinga.
Sri Lanka are staying in the posh Le Grand in Galle where a room costs more than Rs. 40,000 per night. The hotel is a stone’s throw away from the Galle International Stadium. England are a bit further away at the more spacious Light House, where they stayed during their visits to Galle since 2001.
Sri Lanka’s training session was cancelled yesterday as it rained the whole day in Galle. The team was forced to stay indoors. England, who spent their quarantine and early training in Hambantota, reached Galle on Saturday. They had a day off yesterday.
Meanwhile SLC has allowed players families to enter the bubble. Some players have been away from their families since early December when they entered into a bubble for the LPL and then travelled to South Africa for the two Test series.
The opening Test match between the teams will get underway on the 14th of January. Both Tests will be played in Galle. Sri Lanka will travel to West Indies soon after the England series and on return will host Bangladesh. All the postponed series of last year due to the pandemic will be played this year.
Chairman of the National Sports Council Mahela Jayawardena and member Kumar Sangakkara meets the officials of SLC along with Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa to discuss how Sri Lanka Cricket needs to progress amidst the pandemic in hosting tours and tournaments and how to kick start school cricket and further development which is done in the future.
If this actually happened, not only the players but the trainers who took bribes should be severely punished. Players should be banned from playing for the national team ever again.
The length to which the administration of Sri Lanka Cricket and its once adored team has broken down could not be explained any better than what has now come to light that players have attempted to bribe fitness trainers with booze and food in return to pass them worthy of a place in the team.
An investigation by the Sunday Observer has revealed that the ruse had been going on for some time and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) despite its pompous boasts of taking the sport into the future have in fact being taken for a ride by corrupted players who see their keepers in an “absolute mess” according to former team assistants.
“Don’t be surprised at what is happening, the boys are running the show and the keepers of cricket are merely surviving for self gain. The moment you open your mouth and point out the wrong, they (SLC officials) knock you out as you don’t suit their agenda. Only the ‘yes men’ survive,” said a former player who worked with the team.
A Sri Lanka Cricket source told the Sunday Observer that officials at Sri Lanka Cricket turned a blind eye to a breakdown in discipline as some of their own officials have got question marks against their name, some guilty of match-fixing at club level.
“It’s not the players that have to be blamed, but the big wings entrusted with running the sport. The players are merely cashing in and exploiting an administration that has several blacks marks to hide,” he said.
He said the conduct of some of the current administrators have only matched the ways of some of the players, meaning money and financial gain being foremost among both parties.
Asked if he was aware of the reports of “fitness fixing”, Sri Lanka Cricket president Shammi Silva said he was looking into the matter.
“I have been made aware of it and we are investigating,” said Silva.
But pressed for further comment on whether he was shocked at what was happening, Silva said: “We are looking into this at department level. We have to go by reports of the team Selectors and the High Performance section. Only then can we find out”.