Colombo [Sri Lanka], May 6 : Former India fielding coach R Sridhar will conduct a "comprehensive 10-day fielding program" to elevate the fielding standards of men and women Sri Lankan cricketers.
Sri Lanka Cricket released a statement on Tuesday to announce that the specialised program will commence on May 7 and will involve men's and women's national squads, emerging squads, Premier Club players, and the National U19 team, and Women's 'A' team as well.
Sridhar is a BCCI Level 3 qualified coach and will bring a wealth of experience, having served as India's fielding coach across more than 300 international matches from 2014 to 2021.
"The Former India fielding coach will begin the program with the Sri Lanka National Men's team and subsequently train other squads, where he will conduct fielding drills, skill-specific training, and simulated match scenarios, to replicate game conditions. He will work closely with the National, High Performance, and Club Coaches during his 10-day stint at Sri Lanka Cricket," SLC said.
Sri Lanka Cricket has a record of bringing in foreign coaches to run short programmes over the years. Last year, the Sri Lankan cricket board brought in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals' high-performance director Zubin Bharucha.
During his brief stint, Bharucha conducted a programme to elevate the batting standards of Sri Lankan cricketers. Pakistan's 'Sultan of Swing' Wasim Akram and South Africa's legendary fielder Jonty Rhodes were also brought in to run specific programmes in the past 10 years.
Sridhar holds a fair amount of experience in a managerial role. The 54-year-old has previously worked with India's Under-19 team as both a fielding coach and an assistant coach. He was also associated with the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in 2014 as a fielding coach.
Sridhar featured in India's domestic circuit throughout his career. He featured in 35 First-Class fixtures, scythed 91 wickets, averaging 29.09 with a strike rate of 71.7.
With the bat, he mustered 574 runs, averaging 16.40, including one fifty. While in List A cricket, Sridhar played 15 matches, claimed 14 wickets, averaging 28.92 and struck 69 runs at 17.25.
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