Tough to replace Murali and Herath, but need to trust new spinners: SL spin coach Wijetunge

COLOMBO: For Sri Lanka, the sight of Indian left-arm spinner Manav Suthar walking away with a 10-wicket Test-haul was not just a reminder of fortress Galle being no longer impenetrable.

Key points

• Jayawickrama, who is now 27, played five Tests between 2021 and 2022 for 25 wickets, while Embuldeniya.
• If you see, Embuldeniya was part of the Sri Lankan squad that toured South Africa in 2024 October-November.
• Galle was a bankable venue for Sri Lanka where they have a fairly good record of 27 wins in 50 Test.
• Sri Lanka handed a debut to off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha in the Test against India, and the 25-year-old off-spinner was impressive while taking four wickets in the match.
• I can tell you some names like Traveen Matthew, Vishva Lahiru, Wanuja Sahan, Akash Vigneshwaran etc are coming up.

It additionally triggered questions on where exactly are the spin reserves of a team which once had Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath rattling opponents at the same venue.

Notably, the 165-run loss to India. It came a year after being whitewashed by Australia at the same venue, has highlighted the fact that the team needs to regain a lot of lost ground at this venue.

Notably, the heady days of their own spinners dominating proceedings have long faded.

But Piyal Wijetunge, the renowned coach who is now heading the spin wing at the Sri Lanka Cricket's National High Performance Centre here, believes that the island nation has enough talent to regain the glory days. See, it's tough to replace Murali and Rangana.

They were unique and their experience and skills cannot be easily replaced. They are once in a life-time bowlers, Wijetunge informed PTI.

"But we need to trust our new spinners. This person I believe have enough talent to serve the team for a long time. They will be better with time and more matches, " he continued.

Sri Lanka handed a debut to off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha in the Test against India, and the 25-year-old off-spinner was impressive while taking four wickets in the match. Wijetunge thought Nuwantha indicated enough promise to warrant a long run. He needs some patient and careful handling.

He did well in the practice match (SLC XI vs India) ahead of the Test match, and was drafted into the national team.

" So what makes him a player to watch out for? "He is a tall person and can bowl that off-spin and top-spin with ease without giving away too much indication.

"But these are early days in his career and he needs to improve his tactical awareness — what should be done at what stage of the match, how to operate against left-arm and right-arm batsmen, " he elaborated.

"But that will come to him as he plays a lot more matches, you know, the competitive match exposure. I am sure the management will do the needful, " he continued.

In the not so distant past, Sri Lanka had a new crop of promising spinners in the likes of Lasith Embuldeniya and Praveen Jayawickrama.

Jayawickrama, who is now 27, played five Tests between 2021 and 2022 for 25 wickets, while Embuldeniya. This person is now 29, played 17 Tests between 2019 and 2022 for 71 wickets.

They indicated early promise but have been sidelined in the last four years for different reasons. Wijetunge though has not lost hope. The door is not closed on them, I think.

If they do well in domestic matches they can always come in.

As you know, has some personal challenges (one-year ban by ICC in 2024 for breaching anti-corruption code during the Lanka Premier League), but he is on track for a comeback, Jayawickrama.

They need to take wickets everywhere, like Embuldeniya had a good tour to SA in 2019. They did well in our conditions but that is not enough.

So, they need to build on it for consistent team selection, he remarked.

Sri Lanka has a unique process to identify young talent, a multi-tier system involving colleges, districts, provinces and four super provinces.

While Wijetunge is not directly involved with that four-tier pathway, the coach is delighted to see the talent flow from that pool to the High Performance Centre. We have different coaches at that level (district and province).

But I can say that we have solid grassroots cricket from which a lot of talented players emerge as we do selection twice a year from it for the academy.

As I remarked, it's all concerning giving the right coaching and preparing them technically and mentally for a higher grade of cricket. We have hopes for them, he signed off.

Taken together, the developments around tough to replace Murali and Herath, but need to trust new spinners: point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.