<p class="title">Sri Lanka was considering applications from three "top international cricket coaches", Sports Minister Harin Fernando said on Tuesday amid reports incumbent Chandika Hathurusingha has been asked to quit.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following Sri Lanka's disappointing World Cup, where they finished in sixth-place, Hathurusingha and his assistants were expected to be shown the door ahead of the upcoming home series against New Zealand next month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fernando said there were three top international coaches willing to replace Hathurusingha, a former Sri Lankan Test player.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Without naming Hathurusingha, the minister said the coach's remuneration -- $40,000 a month -- was too high, adding: "If we are winning only 35 percent of the games, no need to pay such high fees to coaches."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fernando said the international candidates were asking for lower salaries of between $17,500 to $25,000 a month but did not name them. He suggested Hathurusingha could be retained at a lower salary.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For the price we are paying now, we can get two foreign coaches," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We must renegotiate the high fees we are paying at the moment. If they don't agree, they can go," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, Hathurusingha has insisted he would stay to see out his contract.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I have another 16 months," he told reporters earlier this month after returning to Colombo from the World Cup in England. "I hope to remain until my contract runs out."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hathurusingha also acknowledged that team management had to "accept responsibility for what happened".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sri Lanka cricket was in crisis when Hathurusingha was appointed in December 2017, after a successful three-year spell in charge of Bangladesh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They had just been hammered in Tests by India at home and away, and played poorly in one-day internationals. Under Hathurusingha, Sri Lanka notched up Test wins against England and Australia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The first Test against New Zealand will be played in Galle starting August 14, and the second will begin on August 22 at Colombo's P. Sara stadium.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Three T20s will be played on August 31, September 2 and September 6.</p>
<p class="title">Sri Lanka was considering applications from three "top international cricket coaches", Sports Minister Harin Fernando said on Tuesday amid reports incumbent Chandika Hathurusingha has been asked to quit.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following Sri Lanka's disappointing World Cup, where they finished in sixth-place, Hathurusingha and his assistants were expected to be shown the door ahead of the upcoming home series against New Zealand next month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fernando said there were three top international coaches willing to replace Hathurusingha, a former Sri Lankan Test player.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Without naming Hathurusingha, the minister said the coach's remuneration -- $40,000 a month -- was too high, adding: "If we are winning only 35 percent of the games, no need to pay such high fees to coaches."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fernando said the international candidates were asking for lower salaries of between $17,500 to $25,000 a month but did not name them. He suggested Hathurusingha could be retained at a lower salary.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For the price we are paying now, we can get two foreign coaches," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We must renegotiate the high fees we are paying at the moment. If they don't agree, they can go," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile, Hathurusingha has insisted he would stay to see out his contract.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I have another 16 months," he told reporters earlier this month after returning to Colombo from the World Cup in England. "I hope to remain until my contract runs out."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hathurusingha also acknowledged that team management had to "accept responsibility for what happened".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sri Lanka cricket was in crisis when Hathurusingha was appointed in December 2017, after a successful three-year spell in charge of Bangladesh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They had just been hammered in Tests by India at home and away, and played poorly in one-day internationals. Under Hathurusingha, Sri Lanka notched up Test wins against England and Australia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The first Test against New Zealand will be played in Galle starting August 14, and the second will begin on August 22 at Colombo's P. Sara stadium.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Three T20s will be played on August 31, September 2 and September 6.</p>