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On Tuesday (August 13), former England batter Ian Bell was appointed as the batting coach of Sri Lanka for their England tour. The three-match Test series will kickstart on August 21 in Manchester, with Dhananjaya de Silva set to serve as the leader of the Lankan side.
Bell brings a wealth of experience and tons of runs with him for the Sri Lankan side, who are in pursuit of their first-ever Test series win in England since 2014. Bell amassed over 13,000 runs in international cricket, with 7,727 of those coming in Tests at an average of 42.69 and 22 centuries.
Let's take a look at how Bell's appointment is the right move by Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of an all-important England tour.
#1 Extensive coaching experience since last few years
Since his retirement from first-class cricket in 2020, Ian Bell has served as the batting coaches of the England Under-19s and the Lions teams. In November 2021, Bell was announced as the assistant coach of the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League (BBL).
From 2022 until January this year, the former batter worked as a batting consultant for Derbyshire. His second BBL stint came in the form of an assistant coach at Melbourne Renegades in the latest edition. He donned the same responsibility for the Chennai Braves in the Abu Dhabi T10 as well.
When it comes to international coaching experience, the 42-year-old was an assistant coach of New Zealand for their four-match ODI series against England last year.
Overall, the prolific batter holds a strong pedigree of experience, which could bear fruit for the Sri Lankan side.
#2 Ian Bell will give his all in pursuit of a bigger coaching role
During his early days of coaching in 2022, Ian Bell aspired to succeed with different teams and tackle tough challenges in varied conditions/environments. With a sufficient experience up his sleeve in the franchise leagues, Bell went onto record to state his desire to become the head coach of an international team.
“I have ambitions to be an international coach,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “Hopefully with England, but I’d love to do another international team too."
He added:
“The aspiration is to be a head coach at the right time, not to rush things, try to really be clear, so when the opportunity comes I will be really ready."
Hence, Bell is an individual, who is expected to give his 100% for the success of the Sri Lankan team, and fastrack his coaching career as well.
#3 Will inculcate adaptability among Sri Lankan batters for longer run
During his 11-year international career, Ian Bell displayed terrific adaptability to contribute for the team across all formats and conditions. Apart from having an exceptional Test batting average of 47.84 at home, he succeeded in doing well in Pakistan (52.16), South Africa (44.71), New Zealand (44.77), and Australia (37.29).
The former batter can inculcate the same quality among the Sri Lankan batters during his short tenure with the team. Later this year, the Islanders are scheduled to travel to South Africa and New Zealand.
However, the immediate plan for Ian Bell would certainly be on how Sri Lanka can apply themselves better in swing-friendly conditions like England.
