Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has enlisted former Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun to spearhead a specialized 14-day training programme for Sri Lanka’s men’s and women’s teams, starting 2 June – 15 June.
With his recent service as the fast-bowling coach for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), Arun will lead the specialized training programme for top male and female cricketers in Sri Lanka.
Arun’s program is set to encompass a broad spectrum of participants, aiming to enhance the skills of Sri Lankan fast bowlers in both junior and senior squads at the High-Performance Centre, beginning with the U19 national team.
He will also work closely with the national men’s and women’s teams, the women’s ‘A’ team, the U19 men’s team, coaches at the High-Performance Centre, and club and provincial coaches, along with coach educators during his stay in Sri Lanka.
The 62-year-old has overseen a golden generation of pace bowling for India like Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Mohammed Siraj becoming world beaters under his watch.
With his proven wealth of experience during his tenure as India’s bowling coach from 2014 to 2021, he is also set to conduct strategy sessions for the men’s red-ball and white-ball teams, provide technical and skill-based training for fast bowlers, hold video and performance analysis sessions for players and coaches, and conduct match scenarios to develop game understanding.
This initiative aligns with Sri Lanka’s preparations for forthcoming competitions, including the men’s home series against Bangladesh and the women’s campaign in the Women’s ODI World Cup later this year in India.
SLC have enlisted quite a lot of foreign coaches for short-term programmes. Last year, Zubin Bharucha, Rajasthan Royals (RR) director of high performance, ran a brief batting coaching programme in Sri Lanka as well.
Earlier in May, R Sridhar, India’s former fielding coach successfully concluded a ten-day fielding programme for their men’s and women’s emerging squads, premier club players, the national U19 team, and the women’s ‘A’ side. All these short-term initiatives ran successfully under the tenure of Sanath Jayasuriya as head coach.
With this comprehensive training program, Sri Lanka Cricket continues its pursuit of excellence by investing in such initiatives aiming to achieve greater success in upcoming international fixtures.
In 2025, Sri Lanka women’s cricket team showed moments of promise despite mixed results. On their tour of New Zealand, the Sri Lankan team lost the 3-match ODI series 0–2, losing both matches by 79 and 98 runs respectively, with one match ending with no result. Their 3-match T20I series ended in a 1–1 draw; one match had no result.
However, in the recent tri-nations series on home soil against South Africa and India, India defeated Sri Lanka by 97 runs in the final to win the series. The Sri Lankan side has played 198 WODIs, capitalizing wins in 67 matches and suffering losses in 122, and played 163 WT20Is, winning 59 and losing 99 matches.
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