Sri Lanka’s former star batter Sanath Jayasuriya has been titled as the new head coach of the Sri Lanka cricket team. On October 1, 2024, the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket decided to appoint interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya as the permanent head coach of the Sri Lanka team till the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The batting legend Santh Jayasuriya first accepted the interim head coach duty after former SL head coach Chris Silverwood resigned from the position failing to guide the team into the 2024 T20 World Cup.
The bilateral series between India and Sri Lanka series was the first assignment of Jayasuriya as head coach. Under his wing, the Sri Lanka team won their first ODI series and beat India after 27 years.
Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of Sanath Jayasuriya as the head coach of the national team.
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) October 7, 2024
The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket made this decision taking into consideration the team’s good performances in the recent tours against India, England,… pic.twitter.com/IkvAIJgqio
The committee decided after the latest Sri Lanka team triumph over New Zealand 2-0 in a Test series at home. The SLC committee said,
“The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket made this decision taking into consideration the team’s good performances in the recent tours against India, England, and New Zealand, where Jayasuriya was in charge as the interim head coach.”
“The appointment came into effect on October 1, 2024, and will remain until March 31, 2026.”
On Monday, 7 October in a statement, SLC also said the contract will be effective for 18 months starting from the 1st of October 2024. Since Jaysuriya accepted the job, Sri Lanka’s team has improved so much in just a few months. Sri Lanka will have their next multi-format bilateral series against the West Indies in October.
