Sri Lanka Set To Name Mickey Arthur As Head Coach

Sri Lanka have roped in former Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur as their new coach. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has agreed a two-year contract with Mickey Arthur and are set to make the announcement any time soon. Along with Arthur, the Islanders have also roped in Grant Flower as batting coach, David Saker as bowling coach, and Shane McDermott as fielding coach.

Sri Lanka have completely overhauled the team’s coaching setup as they struggle to do well in recent times. After a disastrous 2018, Sri Lanka did have some promising results this year. After being thrashed in New Zealand and Australia, they won a historic Test series in South Africa before being outplayed completely in the subsequent ODI and the T20I series.

It was followed by a dismal World Cup campaign where they failed to progress ahead of the league stage. But their form after the tournament has been promising. They beat Bangladesh in ODIs and T20Is at home before registering a 3-0 win in T20Is over world number one side Pakistan. Arthur will be looking to make the most of the recent form and help Sri Lanka regain their glory days. He will have at least two years for that as Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed the contract will be of two years.

“They will all be joining on two-year contracts,” SLC CEO Ashley De Silva was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Frequently changing coaches:

Sri Lanka Cricket have earned the reputation of changing coaches on a very frequent basis. Mickey Arthur is the 11th head coach of the Sri Lanka men’s team in the last eight years. Arthur did not get an extension from Pakistan after the World Cup as the team struggled to do well across formats. Under Arthur’s tenure, Pakistan won the 2017 Champions Trophy and gained the No. 1 ranking in Tests, briefly, and in T20Is. Arthur will start his tenure with a tour to Pakistan for the two-match Test series later this month.

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