”We must be prepared to accept criticism” says Sri Lanka’s interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya. Sri Lanka’s performance has been nothing but a disaster in the past year or so. Their recent disappointments against India have added salt to the wounds. Sri Lanka was rattled by India in the T20I series where they lost by 3-0.

In the aftermath of the clean sweep against India, Jayasuriya acknowledged that the fans had every right to be discontent following his team’s recent performances. Yet the Sri Lankan coach has requested the fans to keep supporting their players. “I see the players putting in an enormous amount of effort. I appeal to the fans to come to the ground and support the team during the ODIs,” he urged.

Sri Lanka has been particularly bad in the last 12-15 months. They finished 9th at the 50-over World Cup in India, failing to make it to the Champions Trophy and this year they faced an early group stage exit at the T20 World Cup. The recent series against India further added to their woes as they lost games that should have been won.

The middle order faltered at crucial junctures, unable to build on the solid foundations laid by the top order. Their most disappointing performance came in the third T20I. Poised for victory with 28 runs needed off 29 balls and nine wickets in hand, they took the game to the Super Over, only to be handed defeat once again.

“The third game should never have gone to a Super Over,” Jayasuriya acknowledged. “As coaches, you can tell stuff but handling pressure is for those out in the middle. We are aware that part-time bowlers (Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav) had got those crucial wickets. It is disappointing.

“Kusal Perera from the middle had made a gesture to send a right-hander in. His intentions of letting us know that a right-hander was needed is correct. We were prepared for the routine batting line-up. But when the set batter sends a message you need to listen to that. I would have been happier had Kusal Perera finished it off.”

Jayasuriya asserted that the issue is not as much related to skill or commitment as it’s about poor shot selection and the inability to handle pressure situations. “We have created a system where top-order batters could bat for two or three hours during training,” he said. “Kamindu Mendis batted for more than 600 balls during our training. Kusal Perera batted for over 700 balls and that’s quite a number of overs. I don’t see a lack of commitment, but they have got to tackle pressure better. Their cricket awareness also needs sharpening.”

He further added, “If you see, in the last three games, we started well. That’s what you’re looking for – for the top three-four to bat well, which we did. That is a positive sign. Also in the second game, the rain-affected game, we started well and we could have had some more runs on the board. The third game also, it was a very good start for us, and we bowled well. Apart from the first game, we fielded really well, we fielded well… But still, there is no excuse for us to say anything, and for us to win is the ultimate thing.

“It’s disappointing as a coach, but we have to take the criticism as well, as a coach, as a support staff, as a team. We are taking the responsibility, you can’t go away from that. As long as they realise that, and make sure that, we’ll have to keep giving them the confidence and support I had to go through this (phase) in my time as a cricketer, every cricketer has to go through this. When criticism comes, you have to take it.”