Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed the full-time head coach of Sri Lanka after serving his term on an interim basis for around three months. Sanath Jayasuriya stepped into the coaching role following the exit of Chris Silverwood after the T20 World Cup in 2024. In the 445 ODIs he played, the left-hander Sanath Jayasuriya struck 13,430 runs at an average of 32.36, with 28 hundreds and 68 half centuries. Sanath Jayasuriya was a key member of the Sri Lankan team that won 1996 ODI World Cup. He also served as Member of Parliament from 2010-15.
The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket made the decision to appoint Sanath Jayasuriya as the permanent head coach taking into consideration the team’s good performances in the recent tours against India, England, and New Zealand.
Sanath Jayasuriya’s successful stint as Interim coach for Sri Lanka
Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed as the permanent coach of the Sri Lankan men’s national side on Monday. Sanath Jayasuriya, who was holding an interim position as head coach, overlooked Sri Lanka’s recent series against India, England and New Zealand. While the Lankans endured a 2-1 Test series defeat in England and in the T20Is against India, Jayasuriya’s side stunned Rohit Sharma’s men in the 50-over format in August.
Sri Lanka also proceeded to blank New Zealand in the two-match Test series at Galle, improving their stand in the current World Test Championship cycle. Sanath Jayasuriya’s permanent role has come to effect from October 1 and runs until March 31, 2026, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed.
Post his appointment as permanent coach , Sanath Jayasuriya thanked the board and spoke positively about his appointment and vision for Sri Lanka cricket.
Sanath Jayasuriya speaks positively about Sri Lankan cricket after been appointed as full time coach for 2 years
Sri Lanka’s newly appointed head coach Sanath Jayasuriya has revealed that all he did during his interim role was give the players confidence as they were down mentally. The 55-year-old believes the players have put in the hard work over the years, but underlined the need for luck at the same time.
The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) recently announced that Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed as the full-time coach after finding success in the interim capacity. He helped the Lankans register ODI series win over India and Test series victory against New Zealand at home. Sandwiched between the two was a resounding Test win over England at The Oval.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Jayasuriya said injecting confidence in the players did them a world of good and that already being good players helped. He said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo :
“What I have always said is that it’s all about confidence and trust. I created that around the team and that’s very important. And I think there was a little bit of luck also. You may do a lot of work, but you need that luck sometimes. At the same time, the players are determined to do well. They know what they went through over the last couple of years.”
“They were really down and I asked the people to support the Sri Lanka cricketers. They are a good bunch of cricketers and they are talented. Only thing I gave was confidence, and I am there with them. They can talk to me and discuss anything,” Jayasuriya added.
Three consecutive wins over England and New Zealand have also put Sri Lanka in the frame to play in the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year. They are currently placed third with a win percentage of 55.56. India and Australia are only ahead of them with win percentages of 74.24 and 62.50, respectively.
“Sri Lanka Cricket has invested a lot of money to the ‘brain centre'” – Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya, who will start his stint as full-time coach with the white-ball series against the West Indies, revealed that obtaining data ahead of every tour and playing every opposition has helped them on multiple levels.
The former left-handed batter stated:
“A very key area at the moment is the analyzing department. That’s why Sri Lanka Cricket has invested a lot of money to the ‘brain centre’. We got some support from India too recently to educate our analysis department. It was very successful. And every tour we get data on the opposition, we go through it and discuss every detail.”
From 1991 to 2007, Sanath Jayasuriya played 110 Test matches, amassing 6973 runs at an average of 40.07 thanks to 14 hundreds and 31 fifties. The left-hander scored 13,430 runs at an average of 32.36 in 445 ODIs 28 hundreds and 68 half-centuries. He played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s 1996 ODI World Cup victory.
His first assignment as head coach will be the upcoming limited-overs matches against the West Indies, in Dambulla and Pallekele. Sri Lanka’s white-ball series against the West Indies will begin on Sunday, October 13, in Dambulla.