Former opener Sanath Jayasuriya is set to become the new head coach of the Sri Lanka team. He will replace England’s Chris Silverwood, who stepped down after the Islanders’ poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Jayasuriya stated on Monday that he was asked by the board to replace Chris Silverwood. Sanath Jayasuriya has previously served as the national team selector. He has also served as a consultant, overseeing the improvement of players and coaches at the High-Performance Center in Khettarama.

“I have been asked to take over coaching and I am happy to do it,” Sanath Jayasuriya told AFP. Jayasuriya will take over as head coach starting with the white-ball series against India.

Chris Silverwood was Sri Lanka cricket's men's team head coach from April 2022 till the end of the T20 World Cup. Under his leadership, Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup in 2022 but struggled at the ODI World Cup in India in 2023. Sri Lanka also reached the Asia Cup final last year but was defeated by India in the title match.

Sri Lanka failed to advance to the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup, with only one victory in the group round. Sri Lanka finished third in Group C, behind South Africa and Bangladesh, who advanced to the next round.

Jayasuriya has previously served as a national selector and brings a wealth of experience to the role, having represented Sri Lanka 586 times in Test, ODI, and T20 formats, scoring 42 centuries and taking 440 wickets.