New challenge for seasoned Marvan Atapattu

Watching 37-year-old Mahela Jayawardene go through fielding drills as coach 43-year-old Marvan Atapattu hit the ball towards him, was reminiscent of the days when the two played together.

Jayawardene and Atapattu played together for 10 years till the latter retired. The former was more like an apprentice and played under the senior before taking over the reins and captained him.

However, When it cmoes to work, they both appeared like any coach-pupil would, Jayawardene doing all that was being asked by Atapattu while the latter respected his teammate for all that he has achieved.

Atapattu became the first local coach for Sri Lanka in 15 years when Sri Lanka Cricket roped him in for a two-year term last month. Though he has vast international experience as a player, Atapattu is relatively new to coaching, having been with the team's support staff since 2011.

Under Atapattu, Sri Lanka achieved their first-ever Test series win in England recently.

"We actually made history under Atapattu," said captain Angelo Mathews when asked how different it was from being coached by a foreigner. "Atapattu has played the game for close to two decades and knows the game inside out and has contributed so much. Regardless of the coach being a foreigner or a local, performance have been the same."

Atapattu, who has served as national coach of Canada and Singapore teams, said he was lucky to have "an exciting and champion team as Sri Lanka" to coach.

Asked what difference he saw in the team since he took over, Atapattu said: "Every team goes through different stages, different confidence levels. From the time I have been part of the coaching staff in 2011, the confidence levels of the players have gone up. We are more prepared in terms of managing players, getting the best out of them and in setting goals. These qualities have enabled us to achieve the kind of results that we have in the recent past."

One not to compare eras, Atapattu said players "don't think getting seven or eight an over in the last 20 overs is a major task these days".

"The thinking patterns have changed. Players believe in their skills and are mentally tough. These bring the best out of a player," Atapattu said.

The former Sri Lankan captain said that his team still had areas to work on. "It's easy for me to say all areas but specifically if we can get up to better level in terms of fielding, that will be good. Of course bowling is another area that demands a lot of skill these days with all the restrictions. And if some of the other players in our batting line-up except the two senior players (read Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara) and the captain can take up the burden, we will do better."