9 October - Hyderabad - Sri Lanka Coach Naveed Nawaz pre-match press conference
[Reporter:]
It was a tough day for the fast bowlers in the first match. How do you motivate this young unit - we have a game against Pakistan tomorrow. How are you going to motivate these young bowlers?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Well, it's simple. They got to think about - we expect to face similar pitches in India and it's not going to change much. It's going to be batting-friendly pitches mostly. So, we've got to look at the execution in the game against South Africa and how we could have pulled back probably another 50 – 60 runs and then see what we could have done better which we have already done and then keep the group positive is the most important because it's a long tournament. You're going to be playing, traveling, and doing so many other things for over a month. So, it's very important to keep everyone positive and you're learning each game and move forward. That's simple as that, I guess.
[Reporter:]
How do you rate the batting performance after conceding so many runs? I think we passed the 300-run mark as well. How do you rate the batting performance? And also, a word on Theekshana’s availability and his inclusion to the team for the game?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Well, when you're chasing a total of 420, I guess there's no confusion there that we needed to go hard at it. We just wanted two or three guys to go big. That's the only thing we were looking at, the guys who got runs, especially Kusal, Charith, maybe Dasun, had they gone for a little bit longer, maybe another extra 30, 40 runs by each one of them, could have got us close.
No guarantees when you're chasing a score like 420, but of course, we knew which direction we had to go and the intent was quite positive.
And we are quite happy as a group of how they went about and I think throughout the tournament that's our goal is to maintain the tempo and play positive cricket and post a challenge to every team that we play.
Theekshana’s - I think he should be available for this game. Obviously, we didn't want to take a risk with him in the first game and didn't want to go against the advice of the medicals so I'm sure he'll be available for this one.
[Reporter]
Navin, after a match like that, what kind of guidance do you give to our young bowlers and fast bowlers in the attack as coaching staff? Especially when there's a small gap before the next match, and both the bowlers' unit and batsmen have underperformed. What have you done about it so far?
[Naved Nawaz]
Most of the time, as I answered the previous question, we focus on fixing mistakes in execution and analyzing them. This includes delivering overs, facing aggressive batsmen, employing slower ball variations, executing yorkers, and unleashing bouncers. Furthermore, the Delhi ground has short boundaries on one side and longer boundaries on the opposite side. We've discussed how to strategically leverage these elements, as we don't have time to go back to the ground and train. I believe we've succeeded in these aspects. Going forward, I'm considering their mindset and how they can adapt to changing conditions and opponent strengths and weaknesses. They need to bowl alongside players with diverse strengths and adapt their plans based on their fellow players' abilities that day. Plans change from match to match, so execution is crucial. If the execution rate isn't satisfactory, our coaching staff will discuss ways to improve it for the next game. If any player identifies a problem and wants to practice, we'll make the necessary arrangements.
[Reporter:]
Compared to Delhi this is a much bigger ground but the wickets will have bounce and pace. So how are you looking at your pace bowlers, how will they adjust to Pakistan and how do you look to Pakistan as an opponent in this tournament?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
I think Pakistan is quite a strong opposition. The only advantage that we have is that we have been playing Pakistan recently in the Asia Cup as well, so both teams know quite well about each team's strengths, weaknesses, whatever it may be.
I think it's going to be a good tussle. The boundaries are slightly longer than Delhi. I think it will be at least about 65 metres all around the ground. The wickets have been good in Hyderabad. It has produced runs. There is a bit of bounce and it's good for batting, I guess. So, I think it's going to be a good game and two good teams playing each other. It's a challenge for our boys as well. Against South Africa we had quite a good game with a lot of runs in Delhi so we are having a bit of confidence on our backs, so I guess it's going to be a good one, good game to watch, I think.
[Reporter:]
You are as a batting coach in the side you must be really happy how Kusal Mendis played that innings in Delhi. Can you run us through how he played that innings and all that. What are your thoughts?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Yeah, I think this is where he has to come into because when a player like Kusal who's playing all three formats, he's got to have a very clear mind, okay, how am I going to play in Test cricket, how am I going to play, what is my approach when it comes to ODI cricket and what is my approach when it comes to T20s.
So, I think he's learning, he's learning and he's adjusting with experience. He's had a bad run not so long ago and after closer to Asia Cup, he started scoring runs again and then continuously putting runs on the board.
I think way to go for Kusal is the aggressive option. He needs to be positive; he needs to be looking for runs every time and he's been successful playing like that and I guess he should continue to play like that.
[Reporter:]
You should be happy with the captain's return to form, Shanaka, your captain.
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Oh, yes, that has been a worry for all of us that Dasun was not among the runs and he's had a couple of injury scares as well. As a group, we are very pleased that, that he's scored runs and he's getting better with his tennis elbow as well
[Reporter:]
Having said that your team is going to meet batsman-friendly wickets. So do you think that you're missing the trick somewhere that your bowlers are not up to much because they have given away so much of runs. Is it that you are going to look for containment or you are trying to make your bowlers go for wickets so that you can bring down the runs?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Well, we have in our bowling attack, we have a couple of bowlers which we have identified who are going to go for wickets. We have to do that because the name of this game is wickets. Because when you are playing on a small outfield and when you are playing on a good batting surface, if you don't take wickets, you're going to end up with a 400 runs. That's a no-brainer.
So, somebody will have to come up and know how to take wickets up front and take wickets in the middle as well. So, I think we have a plan under our belt for that. And about Mahesh Theekshana’s coming in, I think our bowling attack is going to be a little bit stronger as well. So, we'll have a plan up front to take wickets and that's the only way I think of containment. If you don't take wickets, it's going to be very difficult to contain.
[Reporter:]
A word on Dunith Wellalage, he was basically the frontline spinner in the Delhi game as a young player coming off from a very successful Asia Cup. How is he handling it and also if Theekshana’s is coming into the side, what will be the complexion of the bowling unit for tomorrow's game?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Well, I think suddenly, due to the loss of Vanindu and Mahesh, Dunith had to face a lot of responsibilities. Suddenly he's been pushed up as the main bowler in the last couple of games during the Asia Cup, as well as the first game. So, I think he's reacted excellently to that responsibility. He's done well in a couple of games in Asia Cup and even on a batting friendly track in Delhi I thought he bowled reasonably well.
It's a game of learning so he's learning and he's moving forward so we are happy with that.
I think with the team combination, when Mahesh comes in, we'll take a call once we have
a look at the wicket.
So, we'll probably have a couple of players in mind and then have a look at the wicket. Because we were training outside Hyderabad ground today as well, so we never got an opportunity to look at how the pitch looks like. So probably we'll have a look at the wicket and make a call on that.
[Reporter]
You've mentioned that you see Kusal Mendis as an aggressive option and Kusal Perera as a key player in your batting plans. What advice did you give him when he joined the team, and what do you think about his role?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
Everyone knows who Kusal Perera is, so I don't think I need to elaborate on his playing style. In my opinion, asking him to play differently would be a waste of his talents. We've given him the green light to play his natural game, and we have no doubts about this approach.
[Reporter]
We noticed some stability from the opening batsmen during the World Cup Qualifier, but that hasn't been the case in the Asia Cup or the first match of this tournament. What are the team's thoughts on this, and how do you plan to address it?
[Naveed Nawaz:]
When we're close to a World Cup, making numerous substitutions is risky. For example, we replaced Dimuth Karunaratne in the World Cup Qualifier to add experience to the lineup. The plan worked. However, we faced additional pressure as Kusal Janith was injured and couldn't play. We were considering giving him that spot if he recovered in time. Since he wasn't available, our next thought was to either bring in another experienced player or consider introducing a new player. The stakes were high in the World Cup Qualifier; even losing one game could have cost us a spot in the World Cup.