Hashan Tillakaratne appointed temporary batting coach of Sri Lanka
What's the story?
Former Sri Lanka captain Hashan Tillakaratne has been appointed as the batting coach of the Sri Lankan national side ahead of their Test series against India. He will currently serve in a temporary capacity, at least until the end of the three-match series against Virat Kohli's men.
"At this stage, for all the Tests he will be the batting coach. Most probably after the Indian series, we'll discuss with coach Nic Pothas and see what's happening from there. With all his experience, there is a lot the batsmen can learn from him".
In case you didn't know...
Tillakaratne has been coaching from the sidelines, working at the grassroots of Sri Lankan Cricket to help promote talent to the national side. He had also served as the national selector between 2013 and 2015, a period that included Sri Lanka's victorious World T20 campaign in 2014.
The 50-year-old, part of the victorious 1996 World Cup side, is a veteran of 83 Tests and 200 ODIs, scoring 4545 and 3789 runs respectively in the two formats.
The heart of the matter
The Sri Lankan side have been without the services of a permanent batting coach ever since Marvan Atapattu's departure in 2014. Tillakaratne has been slowly eased into the setup, and was part of the recent Test series against Zimbabwe as a consultant.
Sri Lanka have been on a coach-appointment spree recently, roping in former greats to bolster the support staff. Recently, Tillakaratne's former teammate, Chaminda Vaas was appointed as the bowling coach, replacing Champaka Ramanayake.
What's next?
Sri Lanka will face Kohli and his troops for a three-match Test series, beginning with the first Test at Galle on July 26. With first choice captain Dinesh Chandimal sidelined due to illness, Rangana Herath will take over the reins for the time being.
Also read: Sri Lanka announce 15-member squad to face India in the first test
Author's take
Despite having played international cricket for close to 15 years, Tillakaratne was never a very popular name outside Sri Lankan cricket circles, but has done yeoman service for the nation, especially after giving up the keeping gloves and becoming a permanent batsman in 1994.
With his inclusion, Sri Lanka have beefed up their resources even further, bringing in some much-needed experience to fill the void created by Atapattu's departure.
Made an honorary life member of the ICC in 2008, the 50-year-old, who ventured into politics in the first half of the 2000s, returns to the game that gave him fame.