COLOMBO (Kashmir English): South Africa’s Gary Kirsten has replaced Jayasuriya as Sri Lanka head coach with the next year’s World Cup in focus.
Kirsten has been appointed as new head coach on a two-year contract as the side begins preparations for the 2027 One-Day International (ODI) World Cup, according to the country’s cricket board.
Sanath Jayasuriya stepped down after Sri Lanka’s disappointing campaign at the recently-concluded T20 World Cup.
Kirsten, 58, previously guided India to the 2011 World Cup title and later coached South Africa from 2011 to 2013. He also briefly served as Pakistan’s white-ball coach in 2024, resigning six months into the job.
Sri Lanka Cricket
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the national men’s team, effective from April 15, 2026,” the country’s cricket governing body said in a statement.
“The appointment of the new head coach is part of Sri Lanka Cricket’s efforts to revamp the structure of the National High-Performance Centre.”
The 2027 cricket World Cup will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Being hosts, South Africa and Zimbabwe will qualify automatically for the tournament. Namibia, despite co-hosting, will have to go through the regular qualification procedure because they are not a full International Cricket Council member.
Sri Lanka exit from the ICC T20 World Cup
Co-hosts Sri Lanka were eliminated from the 2026 T20 World Cup after a 61-run defeat to New Zealand in Colombo, concluding a disappointing Super Eight campaign.
Following the exit, captain Dasun Shanaka cited immense outside pressure and negativity for the poor performance.
Sri Lanka struggled, losing matches and failing to progress to the semifinals.
Following the exit, there were calls for major changes in cricket governance, and Sanath Jayasuriya was relieved of his role as coach, with Gary Kirsten announced as replacement.
