Cricket news: The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Monday appointed South Africa’s former cricketer, Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the national men’s team. The 58-year-old cricketer will assume the charge on April 15, 2026, under a two-year contract which will stand valid till April 14, 2028. Notably, Kirsten has replaced Jayasuriya as the head coach. Jayasuriya’s tenure ended after the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.  [caption id="attachment_800" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Sanath Jayasuriya[/caption]

Kirsten set to lead SL's World Cup 2027 build up

The Sri Lanka Cricket board said that Kirsten has been entrusted with the responsibility to lead Sri Lanka’s preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, which will jointly be hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. 

SL‘s journey in T20 WC 2026 ends on a disappointing note

Sri Lanka’s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 ended on a dismal note. Although the team made it to the Super-8s stage, it lost all three matches in the round and finished at the bottom of its group.  [caption id="attachment_801" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Sri Lanka cricket team[/caption]

Kirsten brings extensive coaching experience

It is noteworthy that Kirsten brings in a wealth of extensive international coaching experience to the role. Previously, he served as the head coach of the Indian Men’s team from 2008 to 2011, steering them to victory in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Later, he coached South Africa from 2011 to 2013, during which the team exalted to the first spot across all formats.  Recently, Kirsten worked as a consultant with the Cricket Namibia during the course of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. In his cricket career, he amassed 14,087 international runs, including 21 Test centuries and 13 ODI tons.