Sri Lanka Cricket has hired former India fast bowling coach Bharat Arun and former South African batter Jonty Rhodes to their coaching staff. The SLC has also appointed former Sri Lankan physiotherapist Alex Kountouri. Bharat Arun can play a crucial role in bringing the next group of Sri Lankan cricketers developing them for ICC events.
Bharat Arun is a well-known name in the Indian coaching circuit. During his tenure as the Indian team bowling coach, the veteran shaped the Indian pace attack into a force to be reckoned with in international situations.
Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, and Shardul Thakur were part of the fast bowling unit that was developed during his reign as Indian bowling coach, as many players credited him for their success in International cricket.
“Sri Lanka Cricket decided to obtain the services of some of the best-known talents in international cricket to provide advanced training for local coaches, trainers, and physiotherapists to enhance their skills and competencies by conducting periodic training programs in selected areas,” an SLC release stated.
According to Cricbuzz, the Sri Lankan board has also agreed to honour and compensate junior cricketers who excel in Sri Lanka’s school cricket events. The prizes will be presented at the Under-15 and Under-17 levels.
A decision to enhance match payments for National Super League players was reportedly said to have been made at an SLC Executive Committee meeting.
Bharat Arun is known as one of India’s shrewd cricket wits, as he had an incredible ability to develop players and analyze game circumstances, and many believe he was vital to the India think-tank during Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli’s tenures in Indian cricket.
According to various reports, the Tamil Nadu medium pacer is the master strategist and plays an important part in developing tactics and ideas during a match.
Arun’s contributions were so significant that the former Indian pacer was largely responsible for the Indian cricket team’s on-field strategies, as Ravi Shastri had enormous respect for his cricketing brain, and the team also had reasonable success during Arun and Shastri’s previous stint with India from 2014 to 2016.
Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes is regarded as one of the greatest fielders in game history. He represented South Africa in 52 Tests and 245 ODIs, scoring 2,532 and 5,935 runs respectively, and has been holding coaching positions with franchise teams around the world.
