Mahela Jayawardene says Sri Lanka must move forward

Mahela Jayawardene hopes there is a swift and decisive resolution to the Sanath Jayasuriya saga to allow struggling Sri Lanka to move forward.

Jayasuriya has been charged by the ICC with two breaches of its anti-corruption code, with the former opening batsman accused of failing to co-operate with an investigation and "concealing, tampering with or destroying evidence".

Jayawardene feels Sri Lanka have gone "backwards" on the field and are now "right at the bottom", having lost 32 of their last 42 completed ODIs and slipped to eighth in the ICC rankings.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports Cricket's Ian Ward and Nasser Hussain, Jayawardene said: "What you have to realise is that it has not gone into the fixing allegation yet - it is just not co-operating.

"So we just need to wait and see where this is heading. You have to give the benefit of the doubt but at the same time it is disappointing.

"You had these guys who were trusted to do a job and to not be able to deliver for your country is a huge disappointment.

"If you don't get this right, if there are any of those things happening in that dressing room or around it, you need to clean it up completely. That should be the starting point.

"Forget about the cricket you play out in the middle. There is no trust in that dressing room if those things are happening. I think the coaching staff and the management are important as well - try to sweep it out.

"It should happen quickly as well. It shouldn't take six to eight months because that is going to directly impact how the Sri Lankan team is going to perform out there because there are a lot of young players, not many senior heads who have played 10 or 15 years.

"You need to start at some point and I think, rightly or wrongly, for these things to come out is a good thing for Sri Lanka - I don't think it's a distraction. It's a positive thing.

"If that's the reason the performance is getting affected, or there's no unity in the dressing room or there isn't the culture there was before, then try to sort that out so we can start planning going forward."

Jayawardene, who scored 25,957 runs for Sri Lanka across all three formats, is hopeful his nation's fortunes will improve, citing England's white-ball revolution as an inspiration.

England were dumped out of the 2015 World Cup at the group stage after losing four of their six matches - including a nine-wicket thumping by Sri Lanka - but are now No 1 in the world and will secure a ninth series victory in a row if they win Saturday's ODI in Kandy.

"We are going backwards from where we were and right now we are right at the bottom, which shows in our ranking," added Jayawardene.

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"To a certain extent the culture was taken out of the dressing room - [Sri Lanka] introduced too many young guys and as soon as they didn't perform they were out. Then in, out, in, out.

"Players were looking over their shoulder thinking: 'Am I going to get kicked out?' That's not a great environment to walk in to.

"Players then naturally play selfish cricket, not looking at what the team wants and how to win matches. You can't blame the players for that.

"Right now it is just a bit chaotic with personnel and things happening. Things have to settle down. They can turn it around.

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"The Sri Lankan fans will get grumpy but they turn up - they'll come back and support the team because they are a very loyal fan-base.

"They are rightly disappointed but they will still back cricket and the Sri Lankan team - cricket is like the heartbeat for this island. It's part of life.

"That is why we need to try and sort it out because that's what people want, and they know that the talent will come through.

[Sri Lanka captain] Dinesh Chandimal has openly said England were in this position a few years ago and turned it around.

"That happened over a period of time with proper planning and Trevor Bayliss and Andrew Strauss having a focus on white-ball cricket and allowing some of their players to play in overseas leagues and get exposure.

"They also stuck with a group of players they backed and who they knew would deliver. There were a few changes here and there but the core group remained the same. Those are little things Sri Lanka can look at."

Watch the fourth ODI between Sri Lanka and England, in Kandy, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 4.45am on Saturday.