By Amindha de Alwis
Former Sri Lanka cricketer Hashan Tillakaratne has been named the Head Coach of the Sri Lanka Women's national side; stepping into the role with immediate effect.
Tillakaratne, who was coach of the Sri Lanka Under-19 team between 2018 and 2020, is expected to serve in the capacity of Head Coach for at least a couple of years.
The left-handed batsman played 83 Tests and 200 One Day Internationals for Sri Lanka from 1989 to 2004 with an aggregate of over 8000 runs across the two formats.
The national Women's side has been out of action since the T20 World Cup which culminated in March 2020. Secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket Mohan de Silva said that there is an intention to organise some matches for the team in the upcoming months but that no fixtures have been sent in stone as of yet.
"There are some (tours) lined up including the 50-over World Cup Qualifiers, but it all depends on the situation and the other countries as well," de Silva stated.
With Women's Cricket set to be included in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Sri Lanka will face a further qualifier early next year to secure a place at the event.