Jayasuriya takes up the role on a permanent basis after overseeing the men’s national team’s recent Test and one-day series wins.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board has appointed Sanath Jayasuriya as head coach of the men’s team until the end of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
The former captain’s appointment was confirmed on Monday, nearly four months after he took over the role on an interim basis from Chris Silverwood, who resigned following the country’s early exit from the T20 World Cup.
The 55-year-old led Sri Lanka to a 2-0 win in the home Test series against New Zealand in September. He was also in charge last month when Sri Lanka beat England in an away Test match for the first time in a decade.
“The Sri Lanka Cricket Executive Committee has taken this decision in view of the team’s good performances in recent tours against India, England and New Zealand,” Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.
“This appointment took effect on October 1, 2024 and will remain in place until March 31, 2026,” the SLC said.
Sri Lanka Cricket would like to announce the appointment of Sanath Jayasuriya as Head Coach of the National Team.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Executive Committee took this decision considering the team’s good performances in recent tours against India and England. pic.twitter.com/IkvAIJgqio
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱instagram (@OfficialSLC) October 7, 2024
Under Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka also won a one-day international series against India for the first time in 27 years last August.
He is considered one of the greatest one-day international batsmen of all time and played a pivotal role in helping the country win its first ICC Cricket World Cup in 1996.
The left-handed opening batsman and spin bowler represented Sri Lanka 586 times across the three formats of the game, hitting 42 centuries and taking 440 wickets. He last competed internationally in 2011.
The former national team selector also had a run-in with the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption and Corruption Unit (ACU) and was banned from all forms of cricket for two years in 2019.
Jayasuriya was accused of failing to hand over his mobile phone and of obstructing or delaying an investigation into corruption in the game.
He is also a former member of the National Assembly and a former Deputy Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.
Sri Lanka are scheduled to play West Indies in a three-match T20 series in late October. They are scheduled to co-host the T20 World Cup with India from February 2026.
