Jayawardene praises talented Bangladesh cricketers

Khulna Titans’ newly-appointed head coach Mahela Jayawardene praised to the meteoric surge of Bangladesh cricket, stating that they have a crop of talented cricketers who consistently have been playing together for a long time.

“There is a huge rise for sure. Bangladesh has come a long way since the 1999 World Cup,” said Mahela Jayawardene yesterday.

“Actually they have been very consistent in the last six years or so, purely because they have a good talented group of cricketers together for a long time. The younger talent seems to be very consistent,” Jayawardene told media at Khulna Titans’ launching programme in the capital yesterday. 

“The bigger secret is to have a Sri Lankan coaching staff, it makes a huge difference. We will take a bit of credit for that,” he added.

Before retiring from international cricket, Mahela played PSL, BPL, CPL, BBL and in New Zealand, the experience that he applies in his coaching career. This year he coached Mumbai Indians who lifted the IPL title for the third time after 2013 and 2015.    The legendary cricket-cum-coach thinks that the role of a coach should be contributing to the cricketers of the younger generation and help them achieve big things in cricket whether it is England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India or other places of the world.

“I don’t see coaching as a job. It is a personal challenge, and I get to give back to the game that I love. Whether it is England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or India, my role has been to contribute to the younger generation of cricketers and help them achieve higher things in cricket,” he thought. 

Sri Lanka-born batsman said that his main job is to create an environment wherein local and foreign players could easily make it in team and play together for its success.

 “Mumbai Indians, I think, was pretty much the same. A lot of the international players arrived 4-5 days before the tournament started. I get an opportunity to work with the local cricketers at that time by going a bit early,” Jayawardene said. 

“Get to know the local talent whoever we picked up at the auction or the other players that we retained. It gives me time as a coach to understand who they are and what triggers them,” he also said.

“Apart from Junaid Khan, we’ve got a whole new group of overseas players coming for Khulna Titans. So the biggest challenge for us is to make sure that they understand Bangladeshi culture and the local players, and then getting familiarized with that environment, which I will try to create as quickly as possible,” he added.

Even though such type of tournaments has no more times for working but he thinks that a six-week time is enough for players to learn the roles, planning and its execution.

“The game is very professional. The younger Bangladesh cricketers will learn quickly how things are structured and operated. The tournament is almost six weeks, which is a lot of time for players to learn the planning, the roles and the execution of certain things,” he said, adding “It is enough time to gel a team. It is how you keep the balance of the good times and bad. You have to be focused at the business end of the tournament.”

 “It is about creating a DNA for Khulna which started the franchise for just one year. It is about building on a culture for the team. It will be one of my challenges, and make sure the foreign players understand that and become part of that DNA,” he told.

Jayawardene praises talented Bangladesh cricketers

Khulna Titans newly-appointed head coach Mahela Jayawardene praised to the meteoric surge of Bangladesh cricket, stating that they have a crop of talented cricketers who consistently have been playing together for a long time. There is a huge rise for sure. Bangladesh has come a long way since the 1999 World Cup, said Mahela Jayawardene yesterday. Actually they have been very consistent in the last six years or so, purely because they have a good talented group of cricketers together for a long time. The younger talent seems to be very consistent, Jayawardene told media at Khulna Titans launching programme in the capital yesterday. The bigger secret is to have a Sri Lankan coaching staff, it makes a huge difference. We will take a bit of credit for that, he added. Before retiring from international cricket, Mahela played PSL, BPL, CPL, BBL and in New Zealand, the experience that he applies in his coaching career. This year he coached Mumbai Indians who lifted the IPL title for the third time after 2013 and 2015. The legendary cricket-cum-coach thinks that the role of a coach should be contributing to the cricketers of the younger generation and help them achieve big things in cricket whether it is England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India or other places of the world. I dont see coaching as a job. It is a personal challenge, and I get to give back to the game that I love. Whether it is England, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or India, my role has been to contribute to the younger generation of cricketers and help them achieve higher things in cricket, he thought. Sri Lanka-born batsman said that his main job is to create an environment wherein local and foreign players could easily make it in team and play together for its success. Mumbai Indians, I think, was pretty much the same. A lot of the international players arrived 4-5 days before the tournament started. I get an opportunity to work with the local cricketers at that time by going a bit early, Jayawardene said. Get to know the local talent whoever we picked up at the auction or the other players that we retained. It gives me time as a coach to understand who they are and what triggers them, he also said. Apart from Junaid Khan, weve got a whole new group of overseas players coming for Khulna Titans. So the biggest challenge for us is to make sure that they understand Bangladeshi culture and the local players, and then getting familiarized with that environment, which I will try to create as quickly as possible, he added. Even though such type of tournaments has no more times for working but he thinks that a six-week time is enough for players to learn the roles, planning and its execution. The game is very professional. The younger Bangladesh cricketers will learn quickly how things are structured and operated. The tournament is almost six weeks, which is a lot of time for players to learn the planning, the roles and the execution of certain things, he said, adding It is enough time to gel a team. It is how you keep the balance of the good times and bad. You have to be focused at the business end of the tournament. It is about creating a DNA for Khulna which started the franchise for just one year. It is about building on a culture for the team. It will be one of my challenges, and make sure the foreign players understand that and become part of that DNA, he told.