Sri Lanka Cricket Head Coach Mickey Arthur has hit back at national player Bhanuka Rajapaksa over the latter’s recent interview on his omission from the national side.
Rajapaksa said he had been omitted due to a fitness issue but raised concerns over the inconsistent policies of the authorities.
Responding to Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka cricket Head Coach Mickey Arthur slammed the cricketer for his ‘one-sided’ interview.
Speaking to The Island Newspaper, Arthur said that Bhanuka Rajapaksa is a comfort zone player and his fitness levels are not where they should be, adding that Sri Lanka cannot afford that at present.
Revealing that Rajapaksa is a talented cricketer with great hands and superb hitting ability, the coach said however, the cricketer’s fielding is not upto international standards.
The Coach said Bhanuka would be included in the T20 squad, but at the moment his skin folds have gone up and he needs to improve.
Commenting on Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s fitness, the coach said the cricketer needs to make some commitments and look after his diet, pointing out that excuses such as ‘his love for chocolates’ cannot be accepted and he has to make some sacrifices if he wants to become the finest player.
“We had a diet plan for him and we expected him to look after himself but his skin folds have gone up again,” Mickey Arthur said.
The Coach revealed that Bhanuka had failed the skin folds test and went home without doing the rest of the tests, which clearly shows his attitude and the short cuts he is looking to take.
Mickey Arthur was further unimpressed with Rajapaksa’s sloppy attitude by having gloves in his hands while running between the wickets.
Stating that he doesn’t like sloppy cricket, Arthur said he was upset to see Rajapaksa running with gloves in hand as this shows the cricketer didn’t push the first run hard and it was ‘just sloppy cricket’.
The Sri Lanka cricket Head Coach added that he wants the national team players to step out of their comfort zones. (NewsWire)