Sri Lanka Cricket today announced the appointment of former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten as the new Head Coach of the Sri Lanka national cricket team.
The appointment will take effect from 15 April 2026.
Kirsten, who had an illustrious international playing career for South Africa national cricket team, previously served as the Head Coach of the India national cricket team from 2008 to 2011, and later as Head Coach of the South Africa national cricket team from 2011 to 2013.
Under his coaching, both teams achieved notable success in international cricket. India won the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup during his tenure as head coach.
It was also during his period as coach that South Africa became the world’s No. 1 ranked team across all formats in 2013.
Kirsten recently served as a mentor to the Namibia national cricket team at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
During his playing career from 1993 to 2004, he scored 14,087 runs in Test matches and One Day Internationals, including 21 Test centuries and 13 ODI centuries.
His contract with Sri Lanka Cricket will run for two years, from 15 April 2026 until 14 April 2028.
Key Responsibilities and Objectives
- To prepare and lead the Sri Lankan team for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup to be held in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
- To contribute to the restructuring of the National High Performance Center of Sri Lanka Cricket.
Accordingly, Sanath Jayasuriya will no longer serve as the Head Coach of the national team after 15 April. Sri Lanka Cricket said an official announcement regarding his future role will be made in due course.
