Jayasuriya will hold the position until Sri Lanka’s September tour of England concludes.
Sanath Jayasuriya
- As he speaks with Sadeera Samarawickrama in Lauderhill, Sanath Jayasuriya laughs.
- Sanath Jayasuriya has served as a consultant for the national squad for the past few months.
- Their interim head coach will be former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who will lead them through a limited-overs series at home against India and an away Test trip in England that concludes mid-September.
- Although he hasn’t held a prominent coaching post before, he has served as Sri Lanka Cricket’s cricket consultant and top selector for the men’s team until his recent appointment.
Ashley de Silva
Following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024, Chris Silverwood resigned at the end of June, prompting the board to make this decision.
Ashley de Silva, the CEO of SLC, has previously stated that the board would post a job opening and look for qualified applicants. He added that Sri Lanka might select a native coach for the position.
“Sanath, with his wealth of international cricketing experience, is well positioned to guide the national team until we find a permanent solution,” de Silva stated regarding Jayasuriya’s hiring.’’
In truth, Jayasuriya had accompanied the men’s team as a consultant during their World Cup campaign in the USA and the Caribbean. It was the first position he had held formally following his two-year ban for refusing to assist the ICC’s anti-corruption unit in its corruption investigations.
Both fans and experts have had differing opinions about Jayasuriya’s appointment. Some people are thrilled about his wealth of knowledge and profound grasp of the game, but others are wary because of his previous scandals. Nonetheless, there is hope that his presence will provide the team with inspiration and stability at this time of change.
The board’s determination to select the most qualified individual for the permanent position is demonstrated by their consideration of both domestic and foreign applicants. Jayasuriya’s immediate priorities going forward will be to prepare the team for forthcoming games and assist them improve on their previous showings.
Head of Selection
During his time as head selector, he faced controversy for other reasons. He was accused of fielding an excessive number of players when the team’s performance was stalling and of favouring a player associated with the previous administration, in which he held the position of deputy minister.
During the 2023 Lanka Premier League season, Jayasuriya served as the Dambulla franchise’s director of cricket, overseeing several departments, including strategic planning.
He served as the team mentor for the Kandy Falcons in 2022, a season in which the team finished seventh out of eight in league play while losing in the playoffs. In the meantime, he had adopted a more hands-on role in his most recent role with the national team as a cricket consultant, and he was rumoured to have participated actively in the think tank during Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign.
However, the function in question has recently overlapped with Mahela Jayawardene’s consultant coach role. Jayawardene left the position last month, citing that the team’s decision-making was “no longer fully aligned” with his.
With his aggressive batting at the top of the innings, Jayasuriya helped revolutionize white-ball cricket, making him one of Sri Lanka’s most beloved players of the 1990s and 2000s.
With 13,430 runs, he is still the fifth-highest ODI run scorer in history. In addition, he is the 12th most wicket-taker in the format with 323 ODI dismissals. Not only that, but there have also been significant exploits in 110 Tests and 31 T20I.
