Villavarayen quits Sri Lanka, joins Hathurusinghe as Bangladesh trainer in cricket

by Ranjan Anandappa

Sri Lanka's 'A' team Trainer, former Peterite Mario Villavarayen will assume duties as the trainer of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team early next month and will join hands with former Test opener Chandika Hathurusinghe to uplift Bangladesh cricket which is not at its best at the moment.

Villavarayen said that working with Hathurusinghe is a pleasure as he has accepted the appointment as the Head Coach of Bangladesh Cricket at the same time, as this should enable him to form an effective combination as he and Hathurusinghe were involved in Sri Lanka 'A' cricket in 2008/2009.

Mario Villavarayen has a Sports Science Degree from Australia and has been in Sri Lanka's first class cricket scene for the past 17 years.

He has toured with the 'A' teams as a player on several occasions and later as the Trainer. He once toured England with the national team as the Trainer and was also the head of the Strength and Conditioning Department.

Villavarayen has been an asset to both the national and 'A' cricket teams while on tour. According to tour managers during Marios' tenure as the Trainer, there has been a fewer number of injuries among the players.

He firmly believes that the training and strength building process prior to a tour should be done before the tour takes place.

While on tour, relaxation, recovering and maintaining fitness levels are the most important factor.

Villavarayen was a member of the Sri Lanka Under 19 team which toured Malaysia and Singapore during the early 1990's.

The team included players like Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas, Ravindra Pushpakumara, Avishka Gunawardena, Russel Arnold, Indika de Saram, Saman Jayantha to name a few.

Although the tour was not the ideal one, as it was lacking competition, many of the players later went on to represent Sri Lanka at the highest level. When asked about his new appointment, Villavarayen said that he needed a change after six years, and thought that opportunities like this won't come that often, it will also help self development too.

However, Villavarayen is always ready to render his services to Sri Lanka cricket once he returns as anyone's ambition is to serve his or her country of birth.