Sanath Jayasuriya's tenure as interim coach extended by 1 year after dominant start - Reports
Former Sri Lanka all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya will remain the Lankans' head coach for another year after guiding the team to positive results since taking charge. According to a report by Daily Mirror Lanka, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has approved the decision to extend his contract, which was initially up to the end of the tour of England.
Jayasuriya was brought in as an interim coach after Chris Silverwood chose to step down. The English coach did not extend his contract following Sri Lanka's humiliating group-stage exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup. The harrowing campaign also saw Wanindu Hasaranga step down as T20I skipper.
Jayasuriya's stint as coach began with a 0-3 whitewash against India. Despite the demoralizing scoreline, there were a lot of positives to be taken as they had brought the Men in Blue to the brink. The efforts paid off as Sri Lanka pulled off a 2-0 win in the subsequent ODI series against India.
With the white-ball teams playing a positive brand of cricket and yielding positive results, it was time for the Test side to make an impression under Jayasuriya. He had a tough task as they were scheduled to tour England for a three-match Test series.
Sri Lanka lost the first two matches to concede the series, but again, there were plenty of positives. Asitha Fernando's memorable bowling performance, Milan Rathnayake settling into the bowling attack, and Dhananjaya de Silva's leadership.
The Lankans were fairly competitive in the first two Tests and won the third match at The Oval to end the series positively.
Sri Lanka close to winning their first Test series under Sanath Jayasuriya
The fruitful phase for Sri Lanka under Jayasuriya continued as they returned home to host New Zealand. They won the series opener by 63 runs, and are on the cusp of completing a whitewash.
In the ongoing second Test at Galle, Sri Lanka scored 602-5 before declaring and bowled out the visitors for just 88. They are just two wickets away from claiming an innings win and march onwards in the World Test Championship (WTC) table.