Former South African great Gary Kirsten, who led India to a famous World Cup win against Sri Lanka in 2011 as their coach, has been confirmed by SLC as Sanath Jayasuriya’s replacement.
Sri Lanka was out of the race for the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup after an embarrassing defeat to New Zealand in the low-scoring second Super-8 match. However, the host nation suffered further humiliation with a four-match losing streak, which included a defeat to Zimbabwe in the group-stage and a 5-run defeat to Pakistan in the last Super-8 game.
Although the Lankans entertained their crowd with their performances, which included wins against Australia, restricting England and New Zealand to low scores and concluding the tournament with a nail-biting thriller against Pakistan, their efforts will be for naught if they fail to make an impact that can get them into the record books.
SLC appoints Gary Kirsten as new head coach of Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board has formally appointed former South African great and World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the Sri Lanka men’s national cricket team. He has also said that his appointment will be effective from April 15.
Gary Kirsten has coached national teams such as India between 2008 and 2011, which included many famous victories, and then South Africa between 2011 and 2013, when South Africa was crowned one of the greatest Test teams of the era.
Kirsten will replace former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya, who had been in the post for the last two years and had led them through a difficult period. Jayasuriya had announced before the start of the World Cup that this would be his last assignment with the Sri Lankan team.
Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the national men’s team with effect from 15 April 2026.
India’s former World Cup-winning coach will complete a two-year tenure till April 2028 and lead Sri Lanka’s preparations for the second World Cup… pic.twitter.com/t0YUwS88Fk
– CricWire (@CricWireLK) 9 March 2026
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