Nic Pothas has decided to end his ties with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) before his tenure was actually bound to come to an end after. He is going to spend more time with his young family.
The former South African wicketkeeper-batsman Pothas joined Sri Lanka as the fielding coach in 2016. He also worked as the head coach for six months after the sudden departure of his mentor Graham Ford.
Meanwhile, his contract was due to end in August, but he made a request to leave early. He ended his term dated on April 13.
“After two incredible years with Sri Lanka Cricket, this is the right time for me to move on to other opportunities, which will allow me to spend quality time with my young family,” Pothas told in a statement.
The 44-year-old Pothas lives in Southampton and will look for coaching assignments in the United Kingdom (UK). In November last year (2017), Pothas pulled out of the Sri Lankan team’s visit to Lahore while citing the family reasons.
Pothas saw the back-to-back series loss to India and the debut One-day International series against Zimbabwe. He coached Sri Lanka to end Pakistan’s unbeaten run in UAE.
Pakistan had not lost a Test series in the Gulf region which became their adopted home since 2010. Sri Lanka won the two-match Test series 2-0.
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Pothas thanks Sri Lanka Cricket:
In his statement, Nic Pothas thanked for giving him this opportunity. He also expressed his gratitude towards all the players, coaches and fans.
“I would like to thank Sri Lanka Cricket for affording this special opportunity. I would also like to thank my fellow coaches and all the players I have had the pleasure and privilege to work with for all the support they have provided me. Finally, I must thank all the supporters who follow Sri Lanka so passionately, for all their support during my tenure,” Pothas further said.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to be involved with Sri Lanka. It has given me the opportunity to learn and improve as a coach as well as to contribute to a very talented bunch of players. This will always hold a special place in my heart,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, SLC has said that they will not hire a fielding coach, but will subsequently rotate those in the coaching department like Upul Chandana and Manoj Abeywickrama as a fielding coach.
