SLC offers Sanath Jayasuriya one-year contract as head coach

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will offer Sanath Jayasuriya a one-year contract as head coach following Sri Lanka’s 2-0 Test series win against New Zealand at Galle yesterday.

Jayasuriya, who is attached to the SLC’s High Performance Centre (HPC) as a cricket consultant, was appointed interim coach for the two series against India and England, which was extended for the New Zealand series.

Under Jayasuriya’s expertise, the Sri Lanka team has performed exceptionally well, beating India in the ODI series 2-1 and following it up with wins in England and yesterday against New Zealand.

“With the team playing so well under Jayasuriya’s coaching, we don’t want to break the winning trend by bringing in another coach,” said SLC CEO Ashley de Silva. “We have offered him a one-year contract as head coach with immediate effect.”

Sri Lanka has not yet found a permanent replacement for Chris Silverwood, who resigned as head coach after the Cricket World Cup in India last November.

de Silva said that Jayasuriya will be full time with the national cricket team and work in the HPC when time permits. – (ST)