Wettimuny urges improvement in umpiring and coaching in Sri Lanka

In Colombo on August 25, 2026, former Sri Lanka opener Sidath Wettimuny said umpiring and coaching standards need to get better during a chat, blaming neglect in those areas for a phase of stagnancy in Sri Lankan cricket. He said efforts are underway to address shortcomings in coaching and umpiring across the country.

Wettimuny, who was Sri Lanka’s first Test centurion with a 157 against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1982, has remained involved in the game as a player, administrator and as a member of the SLC Transformation Committee. "After 70 summers, Wettimuny’s love for cricket remains intact," the report noted, reflecting his continued engagement with the sport.

On the causes of the national decline, Wettimuny said: “The main reason (for the decline) is the neglect in some areas, like coaching and umpiring. Once we won the 1996 World Cup, the game spread beyond the city, to the countryside and we did not look at coaching skills in rural areas. We are trying to address that. We have to make sure that the umpiring and coaching standards get better.”

Discussing structural reforms, Wettimuny outlined changes planned for domestic cricket: “We are bringing down the number of premier tier 1 clubs by next year. From I think 14 to 10 so that the best teams play. More quality rather than quantity. We have proposed a four-day (match) tournament.”

On preserving player individuality, he warned against overhauling natural technique and cited Lasith Malinga as an example: “You don’t want to tinker with someone’s technique. Like Lasith Malinga, he could find success with that action. Like Lasith, we will have a few freakish bowlers.”

Reflecting on his own milestones, Wettimuny recalled the reaction to his century: “After you get it, and you come back and somebody says, ‘do you realise it was the first?’, and then you say, ‘oh is that so?’ I was lucky because Roy (Dias) got one a few days later.” He also revisited the 1985 home series victory over Kapil Dev’s India, saying: “We prepared seaming tracks and we had Saliya Ahangama, who bowled brilliantly. We had a good pace attack and it worked.”

On personal conduct at the crease and the 1996 World Cup, Wettimuny said: “It’s a personal thing. I was taught, when you are out, get lost. It boils down to cheating if you know you are out.” He added: “Sanath Jayasuriya transformed the game like what K. Srikkanth did (for India). Aravinda (de Silva) was at his best, we had a team which was really good and with every match we became optimistic.”

Wettimuny confirmed concrete domestic reforms are planned next year, including reducing premier tier 1 clubs from 14 to 10 and introducing a proposed four-day match tournament as part of the SLC Transformation Committee’s recommendations.