Sri Lanka have appointed Gary Kirsten as the new head coach after Sanath Jayasuriya stepped down from his role after the T20 World Cup 2026. The former South Africa international has served as the head coach of South Africa, India and Pakistan in the past. During his stint with India, he led the team to victory in the Cricket World Cup 2011 and later helped South Africa achieve the No.1 ranking across all three formats.
Notably, Kirsten’s most recent engagement was with Cricket Namibia during the T20 World Cup 2026. However, he couldn’t influence the team much; as a result, the Gerhard Erasmus-led side lost all four of their group stage matches.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Cricket signed Kirsten on a two-year contract, which will last till April 18, 2028. He has mainly been appointed to oversee the ODI World Cup 2027, which will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Having vast knowledge of the conditions of those areas, Sri Lanka believed Kirsten is a perfect man for the job, particularly when he has experience of winning a World Cup.
Jayasuriya’s influence and exit
Jayasuriya helped Sri Lanka rebuild themselves and once again compete in the highest stage. They were struggling heavily in international cricket before the former opener took over and he brought some much-needed discipline and strategic changes that worked in their favour. He was expected to take the team to newer heights but after the exit in the Super Eights of the T20 World Cup, Jayasuriya, interestingly, opted out of the role.
Notably, under Jayasuriya’s coaching, Sri Lanka registered their first ODI series win over India in 27 years. They also fought hard in the three-match away Test series against England, ultimately losing 2-1. However, playing at home, the Lankan Lions defeated New Zealand in the Test series, which helped him remain in contention for the World Test Championship 2025 final, but failed to win the series against Australia, which proved pivotal.
Nevertheless, there were signs of progress under Jayasuriya before he decided to terminate his contract and step down. Now, it needs to be seen if Kirsten can carry on with the same rhythm.
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