It is very essential for a selector or coach to understand a player’s psyche, as this gives rise to a symbiotic bond that is beneficial to both parties. The selector or the coach can then get the best out of the player, who also tends to perform beyond his promise.
Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Rangana Herath’s relationship with selector Don Anurasiri exemplifies such an association. The first Test between India and Sri Lanka at Motera, ended in a draw, the slow pitch not helping the spinners. At the same time, India skipper MS Dhoni admitted that the visitors were more accurate, bowling a single line and length, not experimenting much once they realised there was not much help for spinners.
Herath turned out to be the most impressive bowler of the Test. The 31-year-old has given credit for his performance to former left-arm spinner Anurasiri, who has been travelling with the team. “Don himself was a left-arm spinner, so his advice has been very helpful,” said a satisfied Herath.
Anurasiri earned the penultimate of his 18 Test caps in Ahmedabad in 1994, the same match in which Haryana Hurricane Kapil Dev dismissed Hashan Tillakaratne to surpass Sir Richard Hadlee’s record of 431 Test wickets. Anurasiri finished with two wickets.
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