syndicated from cricbuzz.com,
© AFP
© AFP
Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara have shared many a dressing room but there's one more common factor connecting the two. Both were coached in their school days by Sunil Fernando.
Both tales are interesting. Fernando was the coach of St. Antony's college while 13-year old Kumar Sangakkara was the skipper of their rivals, Trinity College. After one of their games which was won by St. Antony's, Sangakkara's father, impressed by the way the opposition played, made a rather audacious move to approach Fernando directly. "I'm impressed with the way your boys played, can you coach my son too?'' he asks Fernando. It's not a straightforward decision and special permission needs to be taken from the principal of St. Antony's to let Fernando coach a rival player. But it is granted and young Kumar comes under the private tutelage of Fernando.
"I could see his talent when he was very young. I used to tell him that you'll become like Steve Waugh, one day," says Fernando in an exclusive chat with cricbuzz and then adds, "now he's become even bigger. I coached him from his school days until the time he went to the national side. Even now, we discuss cricket sometimes."
Sangakkara has repeatedly mentioned the influence of his father on his game. He was the one who got him into cricket and these sentiments are constantly echoed by his coach. "His father was the one who brought him to me. I used to give him books of old cricketers. People like Chappell and a lot of other books. He was like a shadow," says Fernando. "We used to coach him together, too. Kumar always wanted to play cricket correctly, otherwise his father would scold him.
"Sometimes they were arguing. I never used to scold him," adds the coach. He is clearly in awe of his protege. "He always wanted to master every stroke... he was a very hard-working kid," says Fernando over the course of the chat. "He was a very bright kid. That's why he's doing well. He was an extraordinary child."
While the rest of the world was waxing lyrical about the shots played by the record-breaking Sangakkara, the two men who coached him always viewed it through a different eye. Was his stance correct? Does he have to change his grip?
"I followed his game on TV. His father was always contacting me. This and that is going wrong. We've to work with him about it. We used to discuss it after the match. He used to bring him to me afterwards and we continued to work on technique. Sometimes in Kandy, and sometimes in Colombo. It was a very nice time. I've changed small things. Sometimes his bat will not be coming straight down and instead coming from gully. I used to change that and to perfect his forward defence, I used to throw him from 500 to 1000 balls every session. Kumar even joked once that Sunil Sir's arm is my bowling machine."
Fernando has been coaching since 1973. It is something that he has never got tired of. Even today, he's the coach of the Sri Lanka under-13 and under-15 teams. He's as passionate about coaching young kids as much as he loves the game itself. "God has given me that talent. When I coach the juniors, and then when they do well, I'm very happy," he stresses. There is suddenly more energy about him when he talks about it. "When I go back home also, I'll be writing down the teams, preparing and all that," he adds with glee.
It is that keen eye for talent that helped him spot a young boy bowling rather fast with a soft ball.
Whats' your name?
Murali
He was called in to play for the under-11 team and was a middle-order batsman for a while. But as faster bowlers came in, Fernando adivsed Murali to try bowling off-cutters. After making the change, Muttiah Muralitharan picked up a five-fer in his first club game. That was the start of another incredible journey courtesy Sunil Fernando.
With Sangakkara, Fernando looks back at one particular moment. Even while tutoring him privately, Sanga was still playing for the rival college. "It was an under-19 game against Trinity college. We were actually scared of Sanga. He got some 60-odd in that game" he says. That was the moment Fernando realized that he was right all along about the young kid.
For a man who played a big part in producing two of Sri Lanka's greatest cricketers, Fernando is remarkably low profile. "From his stance and grip to every shot, I have coached. I have worked most with Sanga. Lot of people don't know that. Sanga never mentiioned much about me until this time. I didn't go around telling anyone. One day, he has to say it is what I thought. I'm very happy that he mentioned me. Even a lot of people in SLC don't know that I coached Sanga," he quips.
Sangakkara is making it a point to highlight the contributions of Fernando. Recently, in an interview, he mentioned Fernando as one of the three important people who shaped his batting along with his father and Aravinda de Silva.
"He was like a son to me. He was very close. Even his father and mother were very close to me. I had a very happy time working with them. Wherever Sanga sees me, he comes and talks to me. Murali and Sanga have not changed at all. Even two days back, he said he's got a box for his last Test and that he will send an invitation for it. I got it today.
"I'll be there," he adds, proudly.
Both tales are interesting. Fernando was the coach of St. Antony's college while 13-year old Kumar Sangakkara was the skipper of their rivals, Trinity College. After one of their games which was won by St. Antony's, Sangakkara's father, impressed by the way the opposition played, made a rather audacious move to approach Fernando directly. "I'm impressed with the way your boys played, can you coach my son too?'' he asks Fernando. It's not a straightforward decision and special permission needs to be taken from the principal of St. Antony's to let Fernando coach a rival player. But it is granted and young Kumar comes under the private tutelage of Fernando.
"I could see his talent when he was very young. I used to tell him that you'll become like Steve Waugh, one day," says Fernando in an exclusive chat with cricbuzz and then adds, "now he's become even bigger. I coached him from his school days until the time he went to the national side. Even now, we discuss cricket sometimes."
Sangakkara has repeatedly mentioned the influence of his father on his game. He was the one who got him into cricket and these sentiments are constantly echoed by his coach. "His father was the one who brought him to me. I used to give him books of old cricketers. People like Chappell and a lot of other books. He was like a shadow," says Fernando. "We used to coach him together, too. Kumar always wanted to play cricket correctly, otherwise his father would scold him.
"Sometimes they were arguing. I never used to scold him," adds the coach. He is clearly in awe of his protege. "He always wanted to master every stroke... he was a very hard-working kid," says Fernando over the course of the chat. "He was a very bright kid. That's why he's doing well. He was an extraordinary child."
While the rest of the world was waxing lyrical about the shots played by the record-breaking Sangakkara, the two men who coached him always viewed it through a different eye. Was his stance correct? Does he have to change his grip?
"I followed his game on TV. His father was always contacting me. This and that is going wrong. We've to work with him about it. We used to discuss it after the match. He used to bring him to me afterwards and we continued to work on technique. Sometimes in Kandy, and sometimes in Colombo. It was a very nice time. I've changed small things. Sometimes his bat will not be coming straight down and instead coming from gully. I used to change that and to perfect his forward defence, I used to throw him from 500 to 1000 balls every session. Kumar even joked once that Sunil Sir's arm is my bowling machine."
Fernando has been coaching since 1973. It is something that he has never got tired of. Even today, he's the coach of the Sri Lanka under-13 and under-15 teams. He's as passionate about coaching young kids as much as he loves the game itself. "God has given me that talent. When I coach the juniors, and then when they do well, I'm very happy," he stresses. There is suddenly more energy about him when he talks about it. "When I go back home also, I'll be writing down the teams, preparing and all that," he adds with glee.
It is that keen eye for talent that helped him spot a young boy bowling rather fast with a soft ball.
Whats' your name?
Murali
He was called in to play for the under-11 team and was a middle-order batsman for a while. But as faster bowlers came in, Fernando adivsed Murali to try bowling off-cutters. After making the change, Muttiah Muralitharan picked up a five-fer in his first club game. That was the start of another incredible journey courtesy Sunil Fernando.
With Sangakkara, Fernando looks back at one particular moment. Even while tutoring him privately, Sanga was still playing for the rival college. "It was an under-19 game against Trinity college. We were actually scared of Sanga. He got some 60-odd in that game" he says. That was the moment Fernando realized that he was right all along about the young kid.
For a man who played a big part in producing two of Sri Lanka's greatest cricketers, Fernando is remarkably low profile. "From his stance and grip to every shot, I have coached. I have worked most with Sanga. Lot of people don't know that. Sanga never mentiioned much about me until this time. I didn't go around telling anyone. One day, he has to say it is what I thought. I'm very happy that he mentioned me. Even a lot of people in SLC don't know that I coached Sanga," he quips.
Sangakkara is making it a point to highlight the contributions of Fernando. Recently, in an interview, he mentioned Fernando as one of the three important people who shaped his batting along with his father and Aravinda de Silva.
"He was like a son to me. He was very close. Even his father and mother were very close to me. I had a very happy time working with them. Wherever Sanga sees me, he comes and talks to me. Murali and Sanga have not changed at all. Even two days back, he said he's got a box for his last Test and that he will send an invitation for it. I got it today.
"I'll be there," he adds, proudly.
© Cricbuzz
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