Sanath Jayasuriya as Permanent Head Coach of Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Cricket on Monday appointed former captain Sanath Jayasuriya as the full-time head coach of its national cricket team until the 2026 T20 World Cup. The former opener was playing the role of interim coach of Sri Lanka since July. Under his tenure, the team performed well against India and England, after which Sri Lanka cricket board decided to appoint him as the full-time head coach.

Team Sri Lanka in Jayasuriya's Tenure as Interim Coach
Sanath Jayasuriya is considered one of the most explosive batsmen of his time. Jayasuriya was a part of that team. He used to almost finish the match with explosive batting in the initial powerplay itself. This form is also seen in his coaching. Under Jayasuriya's guidance, Sri Lanka won the bilateral ODI series against India after 27 years. Almost all the major players of India are playing in this series. After this, Sri Lanka won a Test match against England on its soil for the first time in 10 years. Sri Lanka's team recently won the home Test series against New Zealand 2-0.

"Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce the appointment of Sanath Jayasuriya as the head coach of the national team. The Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket made this decision taking into consideration the team’s good performances in the recent tours against India, England, and New Zealand, where Jayasuriya was in charge as the ‘interim head coach.’. The appointment came into effect on October 1, 2024, and will remain until March 31, 2026," an official statement from Sri Lanka cricket read.

As a player Sanath Jayasuriya played 445 ODIs , the left-hander struck 13,430 runs at an average of 32.36, with 28 hundreds and 68 half centuries. He 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.

Sri Lanka will start the T20I and ODI series against the West Indies from October 13. It will Jayasuriya's first series as a permanent coach. Sri Lanka is third in the World Test Championship points table. They still have a chance to play in the finals. There too, the board is relying on Jayasuriya.