Former Proteas batsman Gary Kirsten has replaced Sanath Jayasuriya as Sri Lanka coach.

Jayasuriya quit following the team’s early exit from the T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka Cricket said Kirsten would begin a two-year contract on 15 April, even though Jayasuriya’s contract was not set to expire until the end of June.

Kirsten previously served as India coach from 2008 to 2011, as Proteas coach from 2011 to 2013, and as Pakistan coach in 2024.

His appointment was part of Sri Lanka’s “efforts to revamp the structure of the National High Performance Centre” responsible for training elite players, the board said in a statement.

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Jayasuriya told AFP that he would be the centre’s director.

“I will be overall in charge of training and will continue to work with the team,” he said.

Jayasuriya was appointed coach in July 2024. He is one of Sri Lanka’s greatest cricketers, playing 586 internationals, scoring 42 centuries and taking 440 wickets between 1989 and 2011.

Sri Lanka co-hosted the T20 World Cup with eventual winners India but crashed out at the Super Eights stage, their fate sealed by a 61-run defeat to New Zealand.

– AFP