Sanath Jayasuriya to replace Chris Silverwood as Sri Lanka’s head coach ahead of white-ball series against India

Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed as the interim coach of former world champions Sri Lanka after former manager Chris Silverwood parted ways with the Islanders following an underwhelming ICC T20 World Cup campaign. Jayasuriya is set to take over as the new head coach ahead of Sri Lanka’s home series against India. Hosts India will face the Jayasuriya-coached Sri Lankan team in three T20 Internationals and as many One Day Internationals (ODIs) in July. The bilateral series between the Asian giants begins on July 27.

“I was asked to take over the coaching and I am happy to do it,” said Jayasuriya AFP. Jayasuriya has also served as the national coach of the men’s team for Sri Lanka. Jayasuriya will take over the coaching role after the end of the ongoing T20 Lanka Premier League on July 21. According to Sri Lanka Cricket, former England head coach Silverwood has decided to step down due to “personal reasons”.

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Silverwood resigned last week

Sri Lanka won just one match in the T20 World Cup tournament, against the Netherlands. The former champions finished third in their group behind South Africa and Bangladesh. Silverwood took over as head coach in April 2022. The former Sri Lanka head coach enjoyed immediate success as the Lankan Lions won the T20 Asia Cup in the same season. Sri Lanka also played the final of the 50-over Asia Cup against India last year.

One of the most attacking batters in the history of the game, Jayasuriya played 110 Tests between 1991 and 2007. The batting icon smashed 6,973 runs at an average of 40.07 and scored 14 centuries and 31 fifties for Sri Lanka. The former Sri Lanka captain scored 13,430 runs in 445 ODIs at an average of 32.36. Jayasuriya played a crucial role in Sri Lanka winning the 1996 ODI World Cup title.