Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed the interim head coach of former world champions Sri Lanka after ex-manager Chris Silverwood parted ways with the Islanders in the aftermath of an unimpressive campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup. Jayasuriya is set to take over as the new head coach ahead of Sri Lanka's white-ball home series against India. Hosts India will meet the Jayasuriya-coached Sri Lanka side for three T20 Internationals and as many One Day Internationals (ODIs) in July. The bilateral series between the Asian giants will get underway from July 27.

"I have been asked to take over coaching and I am happy to do it," Jayasuriya told AFP. Jayasuriya has also served Sri Lanka as the national selector of the men's team. Jayasuriya will take over the coaching reins after the end of the ongoing T20 Lanka Premier League on July 21. According to Sri Lanka Cricket, former England head coach Silverwood opted to quit for "personal reasons".

Silverwood resigned last week

Sri Lanka only won one match at the T20 World Cup tournament against the Netherlands. The former champions finished third behind South Africa and Bangladesh in their group. Silverwood took over as the head coach in April 2022. The former Sri Lanka head coach enjoyed immediate success as the Lankan Lions won the T20 Asia Cup in the same season. Sri Lanka also contested the final of the 50-over Asia Cup against India last year.

One of the most attacking batters in the history of the game, Jayasuriya played 110 Tests between 1991 and 2007. The batting icon smashed 6,973 runs at an average of 40.07 and notched up 14 centuries and 31 fifties for Sri Lanka. The former Sri Lanka skipper amassed 13,430 runs at an average of 32.36 in 445 ODIs. Jayasuriya played an instrumental role in Sri Lanka's ODI World Cup title win in 1996.

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