Jayasuriya named SL Coach after interim success

Sanath Jayasuriya  

Former Captain Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed Sri Lanka’s Head Coach after a successful period in charge on an interim basis.

The 55-year-old former all-rounder took over in July following the departure of ex-England Coach Chris Silverwood.

Under Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka won the third Test against England at The Oval and beat New Zealand in two Tests last month at the Galle Stadium.

He has been appointed on a contract until the end of March 2026 - a period taking in the next T20 World Cup which Sri Lanka will co-host with India in early 2026.

Jayasuriya is already regarded as one of Sri Lanka’s greatest players after a career that included 110 Tests, 445 one-day internationals and 31 T20s.

A destructive opener and canny left-arm spinner, Jayasuriya was part of the Sri Lanka team that won the World Cup in 1996 and reached the final in 2007.

Since retiring he became a Member of Parliament in his home country and acted as the Cricket Board’s Chief Selector.

In 2019 he was banned for two years after admitting breaches of the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption code.

Prior to the Test series in England, Jayasuriya also oversaw a One-Day International series victory against India.

Although they lost the Test series against England 2-1, victory in the series finale and the 2-0 series win at home against New Zealand means Sri Lanka still have an outside chance of qualifying for next year’s World Test Championship final.

This is Jayasuriya’s first assignment as an international coach after an illustrious playing career in which he scored more than 21,000 international runs and took 440 wickets across all three formats of the game.

The appointment came into effect on October 1 and the contract runs until March 31, 2026. 
(Agencies)