Asia Cup 2022: Chris Silverwood reveals reason behind using codes against Bangladesh

Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood during match against Bangladesh (PC: Twitter)

Cricket has become a highly-analytical sport lately, especially in T20s, where player match-ups are crucial. Last evening's encounter between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022 witnessed one such incident.

Sri Lankan head coach Chris Silverwood deployed coded signals during Bangladesh's batting innings, which did not go down well amongst fans of the latter. Sri Lanka ended up chasing Bangladesh's target of 184, with two wickets remaining and thus qualifying for the Super 4 stage of the tournament.

As per Silverwood, these coded signs are cues for the captain to help him in decision-making and nothing else.

“There's no rocket science. They are just suggestion for the captain at what would be a good match at a particular point for a batsman when he is on strike. There's a lot of teams doing it now, it's just as simple as it is, really. 

It's just giving suggestions that the captain can use, it's not telling him how to captain. It's just the suggestion from the side,” - Silverwood was quoted in Hindustan Times

Origins of the coded signal

Silverwood with the England side

Silverwood during his time with England's national team relied heavily on numbers. Former England captain Eoin Morgan worked closely with team analyst Nathan Leamon to come up with signals that were first practiced during ICC World Cup 2019, which his side won.

Leamon also worked with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where former coach Brendon McCullum was also seen using similar mode of communication.

This method, however, has been quizzed by several former players.

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