Hashan Tillekeratne Appointed as Sri Lanka U-19 Head Coach

Former Sri Lanka Test skipper, Hashan Tillekeratne has been appointed as the head of the Sri Lankan U-19 team for a couple of years.

Tillekeratne will replace Roy Dias once his appointment with the junior side starts. It was not too long back that Tillekeratne served as the batting coach of the senior team. The players lavished praises on him for their series victory against Pakistan in UAE last year.

It was his valuable inputs against the Pakistan spinners that earned praise from the opening batsman of the team, Dimuth Karunratne.

He also got appointed as the head coach of the senior team for the one-off T20 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. He got elected after Nic Pothas; their regular coach backed out of the tour due to security reasons.

After the brief stint, Thilan Samaraweera replaced him. The former middle-order batsman was hired on the recommendations of head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha. Tillekeratne was on the SLC staff list despite not being on Sri Lanka duties. He was busy working with fringe players in the cricket at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

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It was in April this year that Tillekeratne helped Galle claim the first-class campaign this season.

They also reached the final of the limited overs cup. Meanwhile, some of the other former cricketers who got shortlisted for the job included the likes of Chaminda Vaas and Malinda Warnaoura.

Meanwhile, Harsha de Silva who has mentored several youngsters was also in the reckoning. ‘

Hashan Tillekeratne’s career at a glance

The Sri Lankan junior team hasn’t quite performed up to standards in the recent time. They failed to make it through to the quarterfinals in the Junior World Cup held in New Zealand early in the year. Coming back to Hashan Tillekeratne’s career, the southpaw smashed a century on his Test debut against the Proteas.

He got axed from the national side after a disastrous campaign in the 1999 World Cup. However, he made a dramatic comeback a couple of years later. He went on to lead the national side for two years. He will be gearing up for his new role with the junior team slated to play some bilateral series in the next few months. World Champions India will travel for a bilateral series next month.

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