Samaraweera: Want to work on mental toughness

Bangladesh's newly-appointed batting consultant Thilan Samaraweera is looking forward to working on the mental aspects of his charges as he joined the Tigers' first training session after the Eid-ul-Adha break in Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday. The 39-year old former Sri Lankan cricketer, who previously worked as the batting consultant with Australia, said he is excited to become a part of the Bangladesh coaching staff. “I think it is a huge excitement when you work with an international team and a great bunch of cricketers. Really and honestly, very excited for the next 45 days (his initial deal). My first priority is the Afghanistan series because I know when you are not playing for four-five months and come to the international arena, whenever you play a practice match it's totally different,” said Samaraweera, alluding to the Tigers' last international assignment in the 2016 World Twenty20 in March. “I think the first focus should be the three one-day games against Afghanistan and then move to the England series,” he added. Samaraweera believes the Tigers' changed mindset, which served them so well in recent times, especially in the limited-over formats, will continue to be key ahead of Afghanistan and England's arrival. “I think the freedom that Chandi (head coach Chandika Hathurusingha) and the staff gave made them believe in themselves. You can see in the last 18 months they beat Pakistan and India. It's hard to beat India in Asia, and South Africa,” he said. “They made the [2015] World Cup quarter-finals, Asia Cup [T20] final and then the World T20 Championship where they nearly upset India. So I think it's a big change,” he added. The former right-hander, who scored 5462 runs in 81 Tests with 14 hundreds and 30 fifties at an average of 48.76, informed that Hathursingha had a great influence on him before he took up the role. Samaraweera said the 48-year old had also played a crucial role during his playing career. “For me, I take down my playing career to two parts. From 2001-06, I am a totally different player. Then, I was dropped from the team. And then I met Chandika. From there, I became a totally different cricketer. I think my average was close to between 50-60. I know what he is capable of and I would love to work with him,” he explained.