Sanath Jayasuriya takes charge as Sri Lanka's interim head coach, replacing Chris Silverwood ahead of India series

Former Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya has been named interim head coach of the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. The legend of the Island nation himself confirmed the development on Monday (8th July) and later on Sri Lanka Cricket also made the confirmation.

This comes after Chris Silverwood decided to step down as the head coach of the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team following the poor run in the T20 World Cup 2024. The tournament took place in the USA and the Caribbean in June and saw India winning the title by beating South Africa in the final by 7 runs.

Sri Lanka National Cricket Team had a horrible campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024. They failed to reach the Super 8 stage of the tournament and managed just one win in the league stage. The Wanindu Hasaranga-led side defeated the Netherlands and struggled in the entire tournament. They finished third behind South Africa and Bangladesh in their group.

Following the poor outing, Chris Silverwood decided to leave and cited personal reasons for his decision to leave the team. He did a decent job as the head coach of the team ever since he was appointed for the role in April 2022 and made some valuable contributions to the team.

During his tenure, Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in 2022 and also reached the final of the final of the 50-over Asia Cup in 2023. However, in the ICC events, he failed to make a mark. The island nation failed in the two T20 World Cups along with having a poor campaign in the ICC World Cup 2023.

With the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team being in need of a head coach, Sanath Jayasuriya confirmed that he has been asked by the Board to take the role. The former skipper of the team also confirmed that he is more than happy to take the role of the head coach.

“I have been asked to take over coaching and I am happy to do it,” Sanantb Jayasuriya told AFP.

A few hours later, Sri Lanka Cricket also released the official statement and stated: "Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of Mr. Sanath Jayasuriya as the 'Interim Head Coach' of the National Team. He will function in the position until the completion of Sri Lanka's tour of England in September 2024."

Sanath Jayasuriya to take the head coach role from India series

Sanath Jayasuriya is now all set to take over the charge of the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team after the ongoing Lanka Premier League on July 21. The former skipper of the team will be having his first assignment against India, who will be touring the island nation the for white-ball series.

Sanath Jayasuriya has been an incredible servant for the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. He is still rated as one of the best batters to have played from the country. The Southpaw represented Sri Lanka in 586 games across the three formats. He hit 42 centuries and also took 440 wickets. He played his last international game in 2011.

Apart from this, Sanath Jayasuriya was also the National selector of the team. He also served Sri Lanka as a cricket consultant in December 2023 and oversaw both players and coaches at the High-Performance Centre in Khettarama.