Sri Lanka cricket team has appointed former South African batsman Gary Kirsten as its new head coach. Kirsten is known as an experienced player and successful coach in international cricket. He has also previously coached the Indian team and under his supervision India won the historic title of ODI World Cup in 2011.
Will take command from 15 April 2026
Making an official announcement, Sri Lanka Cricket Board said that Kirsten will take charge of the team from 15 April 2026. Kirsten has been given this responsibility in place of former great Sri Lankan batsman Sanath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya had resigned from his post after the 2026 T20 World Cup. The team’s performance in the tournament was not as per expectations and its journey ended in the Super-8 stage itself. After this the board started searching for a new coach and expressed confidence in Kirsten.
There is a two-year contract between Sri Lanka Cricket Board and Kirsten. Under this agreement, he will remain the head coach of the team till April 2028. This means that in the preparations for the ODI World Cup to be held in 2027, the Sri Lankan team will take the field under his guidance. The board hopes that his experience will give a new direction to the team and it will be able to become competitive in big tournaments again.
Kirsten’s cricket career
Kirsten was associated with the Namibia team as a consultant during the recently held 2026 T20 World Cup. He gave strategic advice to that team. If we look at Kirsten’s cricket career, she has played more than 500 matches in first-class and List-A cricket. In these matches, he scored more than 26 thousand runs with the help of 64 centuries, which is a proof of his brilliant batting career.
Kirsten’s experience in the field of coaching has also been very rich. Under his coaching, the Indian team won the ODI World Cup in 2011, which is considered one of the biggest achievements in the history of Indian cricket. Apart from this, in April 2024, he was also made the coach of Pakistan’s white ball team, but due to differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board, he left that post.
Now his biggest goal with the Sri Lankan team will be to directly qualify the team for the 2027 ODI World Cup. This tournament will be organized in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The Sri Lanka Cricket Board hopes that under the leadership of Kirsten the team will be able to make a strong comeback in international cricket.
Comments are closed.