Former Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya has been named as the team's head coach ahead of their upcoming home series against India. Jayasuriya will fill in the role of Chris Silverwood for Sri Lanka's next two series - against India and England.
According to the ICC, Jayasuriya will take the head coach's role until Sri Lanka's tour of England which ends in September 2024.
This means he will also be in charge of the team for the limited-overs series against India, starting from July 27 onwards. India and Sri Lanka will take one each other in three T20Is and as many ODIs.
On Jayasuriya's appointment, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket Ashley De Silva highlighted the former skipper's experience. "Sanath with his wealth of international cricketing experience is well-positioned to guide the national team, until we find a permanent solution," Ashley said.
Jayasuriya has served as chief selector in the past and was the consultant for the team during the T20 World Cup 2024. Silverwood, who was the head coach during the World Cup, stepped down after the tournament. The 2014 Champions won only one game out of four and were knocked out in the group stage only.
Under Silverwood, Sri Lanka have won the T20 Asia Cup in 2022 before finishing as runners-up to India in the ODI Asia Cup in 2023.
In the ODI World Cup too, the Lankan Lions had a poor show with just two wins in nine matches and finished ninth in the ten-team event, only above the Netherlands. This saw them miss out on the qualification requirement for the Champions Trophy 2025 as the top-eight teams of the group stage of the World Cup 2023 booked a place in the global tournament.
Jayasuriya has been one of the most prolific players for the Lankan Lions. He has played 586 International matches for them, scoring 21032 runs in all three formats. In 445 ODIs, he is the second-highest run-scorer from his nation with 13430 runs to his name. In 110 Tests, he has made 6973 runs and 629 in the 31 T20Is he has played in.
