Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has resigned from his role of team's consultant coach. He was signed by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on an extension of one year in January 2024. Jayawardene had first taken up the role in 2022 and the team also won the Asia Cup in the same year under Dasun Shanaka's leadership. But their poor showings at the ICC events - T20 World Cup 2022 and 2024 and ODI World Cup 2023 had led to his position being under scrutiny.
Despite poor showings in the previous two ICC events, SLC had extended his contract earlier this year citing his good work behind the scenes. Mahela Jayawardene's primary role was oversee a cultural shift within Sri Lanka Cricket alongside looking after domestic cricket competitions apart from making technical improvements at the High Performance Centre.
He also used to tour with the national side on major tournaments. But his absence from the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA had raised many eyebrows. "Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that Mr. Mahela Jayawardene, who served as the 'Consultant Coach' of the SLC, has tendered his resignation with immediate effect," SLC media releasea said of his resignation.
Meanwhile, according to ESPNCricinfo, Jayawardene's main reason is an apparent overlap of roles with Sanath Jayasuriya who is also the cricket consultant of Sri Lanka since December 2023. Interestingly, the latter also travelled with the team for the T20 World Cup deviating from the earlier plan.
"It has become apparent to me that current decision-making is no longer fully aligned with the direction we were taking in some of these areas, and after careful consideration, I have concluded that it is best I step down," Jayawardene wrote in his letter to SLC.
