The former Sri Lanka captain Hashan Tillakaratne has been appointed as batting coach of the senior men’s national programme. He will be working with the national team players at the SLC’s National High Performance Centre.
The 1996 World Cup winner has scored over 8,300 international runs across 83 Tests and 200 ODIs from 1989 to 2004, and officially assumed his new role on August 20.
His contract will be valid till December 31, 2027. “Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of Hashan Tillakaratne as the batting coach of the senior men’s program. He will be based at the National High Performance Centre of the SLC and will work with the national players as part of the Senior Men’s Program.”
He has also served as the head coach of the Bangladesh Women’s National Team and parted ways on February 02, 2025.
“The former World Cup winner previously served as the batting coach of the Sri Lanka men’s national team and the head coach of the Sri Lanka women’s national team. He has also served as the head coach of the Bangladesh Women’s National Team.”
“Tillakaratne represented Sri Lanka from 1989 to 2003, playing 83 Test matches and 200 ODIs and accumulating more than 8,200 international runs across the two formats. His appointment came into effect on 20th August 2026 and will continue until 31st December 2027,” said SLC in their statement.
Tillakaratne brings extensive coaching and administrative experience to the National High-performance Centre setup in Colombo.
His finest Test innings came against India in 2001, when he crafted a magnificent unbeaten 136 in the third Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo.
Following his playing career, he captained Sri Lanka in 11 Tests. Tillakaratne served as a national selector and worked with various senior, U-19, and women’s setups, and completed a recent coaching stint in the United States of America (USA).