Gary Kirsten plots Sri Lanka’s 2027 World Cup-winning roadmap

Former South Africa batter Gary Kirsten, who has had coaching stints with India, South Africa, Pakistan, Namibia, and a host of other T20 franchises, has recently been appointed head coach of Sri Lanka.

Under Kirsten's tutelage, India won the ODI World Cup in 2011, and South Africa won the Test mace in 2012 and later that year achieved the no.1 ranking in the ICC team rankings in all three formats simultaneously.

Kirsten was also the batting coach of the Gujarat Titans team that won the IPL in their inaugural season in 2022. Kirsten's two-year stint as Sri Lanka's head coach started on April 15, and on Thursday, he spoke to reporters in Colombo about his ambitions and goals for the side.

We would all like to see the team performing well- Gary Kirsten

When asked what type of performance he wanted from the side, Kirsten responded, "I think we would all like to see the team performing really well across all the formats. Obviously, there are some big tournaments just around the corner, the men's World Cup in 17 months time. We'd want to have a really good tournament there."

While the exact dates of the tournament aren't confirmed, it is expected to be held in October-November 2027. This time, the tournament will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Sri Lanka haven't reached the semi-finals of an ODI World Cup since they finished runners-up to India in 2011. Kirsten was India's head coach at the time.

I'm trying to understand what kind of roles we want in the team- Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten stated that his immediate priority with the Sri Lankan side was to understand what type of team he wants to build and what type of players would fill those roles in his teams.

"I think my priority at the moment and I've already started doing some work on that is just understanding what roles we're looking for in each of the different formats and then what are the players that can fulfil those roles," he added.

Sri Lanka's next matches

Over the years, it has been suggested that Sri Lanka's players have been unable to catch up to the modern standards of the game in terms of power and faster scoring.

Gary Kirsten was asked whether he shared the sentiment, he said that he aimed to "get everyone up to speed with the modern game". "I think there's enough skills and talent in the country to compete against the best teams in the world," he added.

Gary Kirsten also said that he wanted the side to be more consistent, and cited Sri Lanka's win over Australia in the T20 World Cup in February. "It was a great game of cricket by Sri Lanka. So the potential is absolutely there."

"Just want to get the consistency up and you know if there areas in the balance of the team that are not quite working out, it's our role and responsibility to understand that and to make sure those skills that are required, we are preparing and developing players so we fulfil our skills."

At that tournament, which was co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, the island nation made it from the group stage to the Super Eights, but lost all three of their matches in the second round to crash out of the tournament.

Gary Kirsten will first take charge of Sri Lanka's tour to the West Indies in June-July. The tour comprises 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, and 2 Tests. In August, Sri Lanka will host India for 2 Tests.

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