SL coach vows to stay on despite World Cup exit

COLOMBO: Chandika Hathurusingha insisted Monday he would remain Sri Lanka’s cricket coach despite pressure to step down after their World Cup exit, but official sources said a shake-up was planned.

Sri Lanka started the tournament as outsiders and finished sixth of the nine teams, registering one of their three wins against hosts England. Local media reported Monday that Sri Lanka sports minister Harin Fernando was unhappy with Hathurusingha’s performance and that he would be asked to step down.

But Hathurusingha told reporters on landing back in Colombo that though he had expected better from the team, and he would still see out his contract as coach. “I have another 16 months,” Hathurusingha said. “I hope to remain until my contract runs out.”

Asked if he accepted responsibility for Sri Lanka failing to qualify for the semi-finals, Hathurusingha said the entire team management should share the blame. “All of us must accept responsibility for what happened. I think we expected better performance... We have to think. We must learn from this and move forward. I think I have done to the best of my ability.” A top cricket official said the board expected to carry out a major overhaul of the coaching department within three months.