Marvan Atapattu says he needs more than 10 days to change Zimbabwe

Marvan Atapattu the ex-Sri Lankan cricketer and skipper of the national side was appointed as the batting consultant of Zimbabwe on the 12th of January. But his stint with Zimbabwe will only be for 10 days.

Atapattu believes that 10 days time is not enough to bring about a major change in the team. At the present moment he is concentrating on working closely with the head coach Dav Whatmore who was once played for Australia.

Atapattu arrived in Khulna on the 14th of January, the day before Zimbabwe’s T20 match against Bangladesh.

Atapattu said, "It is a challenge to start with. I will be here with these guys till the end of this series, and try to work with Dav [Whatmore] who I have known for years. I have to see if I can help them tactically and technically in the coming days. We are playing a very good side who are on top of their game. They have played a lot of T20 cricket in the past.”

Atapattu however has faith in himself and in the Zimbabwe squad. He has gained considerable experince being in the circuit for some time now and hopes that he will be of help.

He said "There's not a lot you can do in ten days. But as I said, I will be working very closely with Dav who has been with them for the last one year. It is a privilege to work with him. I will have to see what I can do as a coaching unit.”

“I think I have been in the circuit for quite some time in the sub-continent and I have bit of an idea of what's going on. How individuals play their game overall. The experience helps.” he added.

Chances are hight that Atapattu will succeed Andy Waller as the batting coach of Zimbabwe but for the time being he is only a consultant. The Zimbabwe Cricket report helps us learn that Atapattu migh tbe considered for the role only after Zimbabwe’s tour of Bangladesh.

They said, "contract will be reviewed after the Zimbabwe tour of Bangladesh, with a view to entering into a longer relationship". Atapattu is presently happy with the current deal.

"I resigned from Sri Lanka thinking that I need to give time for my family, which I haven't done for the last 25 years. It is my priority now so I am happy with what I am doing. I don't want to be away from the game for too long. This is the game that I love and know best.” he said.

Atapattu feels that the penultimate over sealed the fate of Zimbabwe in the first T20I, which they eventually lost. Bangladesh allowed them to score only a single run in that over and Zimbabwe had to settle for 163 for 7 in 20 overs.

"[A total of 163 runs] was certainly not enough," said Atapattu. "We were beaten in the 19th over. Obviously we were in a position to probably have at least 20 runs more in our total. But unfortunately we didn't get that due to good bowling and not so much when it comes to smart batting. We will try to rectify it and we will try to do better in the next game.”