Rathour Backs Sri Lanka to Overcome Power-Hitting Woes by Finding More Boundaries

Sri Lanka’s batting coach Vikram Rathour believes the national side can compensate for their lack of power-hitting by improving shot range and boundary placement, despite suffering a home T20I series defeat to England on Sunday.

Sri Lanka went down by six wickets in a rain-shortened match in Pallekele to lose the series, but Rathour insisted there were encouraging signs in the team’s batting performance and that progress is being made.

“I think we were better today, definitely,” Rathour said after the match. “We showed better intent and better decision-making against spin. It is a work in progress, but we are getting better.”

Before rain intervened during England’s chase, Sri Lanka had posted 189 for 5 from their 20 overs — only their fifth T20I total of 180 or more since the conclusion of the 2024 T20 World Cup. While questions remain over Sri Lanka’s power-hitting capabilities, Rathour attributed this partly to the nature of pitches they have played on and suggested alternative ways to remain competitive.

“The surfaces here are not that conducive to power-hitting,” Rathour explained. “Especially in Colombo, the wickets are slow and the ball does not come on to the bat. There are two components to T20 batting — power-hitting is one, but range is just as important.”

Rathour stressed that Sri Lanka could make up for a shortage of six-hitters by maximising fours through smart use of angles and footwork. “If you are not a team that hits a lot of sixes, you can still score heavily by using the whole ground,” he said. “These wickets suit batters who can use their feet and score square of the wicket.”

One player who stood out in this regard was 23-year-old Pavan Rathnayake, who struck 40 off 22 balls after coming into the match with a modest T20 strike rate of 100. Rathour praised Rathnayake’s footwork, calling it among the best he has seen in the current generation.

“He is batting really well at the moment,” Rathour said. “I haven’t seen too many players using their feet as well as he is. That is a really good sign for Sri Lankan cricket.”

Rathour also defended the decision to promote captain Dasun Shanaka to No. 5, despite the move ending unsuccessfully when Shanaka was dismissed early by an Adil Rashid googly. The batting coach said the experiment was designed to give Shanaka freedom without the pressure of finishing an innings.

“He is the best finisher in the team,” Rathour said. “We wanted to give him an opportunity when there was no pressure, to go and play freely. Unfortunately, it didn’t work today, but it’s something we might try again.”

However, concerns persist over Sri Lanka’s tendency to lose momentum during the middle overs. After reaching 76 for 1 in the first T20I, Sri Lanka collapsed to 133, while on Sunday they again threatened to unravel before Rathnayake stabilised the innings.

“That is the area we are working on,” Rathour admitted. “We need to be smarter with shot selection, pick the right balls, and have better plans against spin. Those discussions are happening, and the players are practising those scenarios.”

The batting struggles have also forced Sri Lanka to play an extra batter at the expense of a fifth frontline bowler — a strategy that backfired when Eshan Malinga suffered a shoulder injury, leaving the side short of bowling options.

“We have a good bowling attack, but because the batting hasn’t been consistent, we wanted the cushion of an extra batter,” Rathour said. “Today showed us the risk of that approach. It’s something we’ll learn from.”

Despite the series loss, Rathour remains optimistic that Sri Lanka’s batting unit is moving in the right direction as they continue to refine their approach ahead of upcoming assignments.