Sri Lanka’s head coach Jayasuriya to step down

COLOMBO (Agencies): Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya said he will step down as head coach, while Pakistan’s Salman Agha said he will take time to decide whether to remain captain after both teams’ poor campaigns at the Twenty20 World Cup. Tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka made the Super Eights but the 2014 champion lost all three matches to finish at the bottom of Group Two. “I thought it was time to give it (the job) to someone else,” Jayasuriya said after their narrow defeat to Pakistan on Saturday. “That’s why about two months ago I’d said during the England series that I don’t have hopes of staying in the job for long. I’d taken this decision by then. “I thought I’d be able to leave as coach on a good note in the World Cup. I wasn’t able to do that as well as I’d like, and I’m sad about that.” The former captain, whose contract runs until June, said he was yet to convey his decision to Sri Lanka Cricket. “I haven’t given SLC any news officially yet. They don’t know that I am going to say this even. I will need to go and discuss with them.”

It was an underwhelming tournament for Pakistan as well that included a comprehensive defeat at the hands of arch-rivals India in a group match. Pakistan’s middle order often did not click, while their slow bowlers could not make the most of the spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka where they played all their matches. “We have underperformed in the whole tournament,” captain Agha told reporters. “We are out of the semis due to our failure in decision-making in pressure situations.” Agha said he and head coach Mike Hesson took full responsibility for their poor performance in a global multi-team event. He was unhappy with his own form but said he was not in a hurry to take a call on whether to stay as Pakistan’s white-ball captain. “I will go back and take some time to decide,” the 32-year-old said. “Because at this point of time stepping down would be an emotional decision.”