Sri Lanka name Jayasuriya as interim coach

Colombo: Former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya has been named the interim head coach of the island nation’s cricket team ahead of its white-ball home series against India beginning later this month.

The Indian team will be touring Sri Lanka for three T20 Internationals (T20Is) and as many One-Day Internationals (ODIs), starting July 27.

The 55-year-old Jayasuriya, a swashbuckling opener in his prime, was named for the interim post after Englishman Chris Silverwood resigned last week as Sri Lanka head coach. Silverwood stepped down in the wake of the country’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign.

Jayasuriya, who has also served as a chief selector in the past, will take charge of Sri Lanka’s Test tour of England as well, The ‘Daily Mirror’ newspaper reported.

One of the most attacking batters of his times, Jayasuriya had recently been a consultant for the team during the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean where it bowed out in the group stage.

Jayasuriya featured in 110 Tests between 1991 and 2007, scoring 6,973 runs at an average of 40.07, with the help of 14 centuries and 31 fifties.

In the 445 ODIs he played, the left-hander struck 13,430 runs at an average of 32.36, with 28 hundreds and 68 half centuries.

He was a key member of the Sri Lankan team that won 1996 ODI World Cup. He also served as Member of Parliament from 2010-15.