Mahela Jayawardene Resigns as Sri Lanka’s Consultant Coach
Colombo [Sri Lanka], June 27: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced that Mahela Jayawardene, the former batter and captain, has resigned from his position as consultant coach of the national teams. This decision follows Sri Lanka’s disappointing performance in the ICC T20 World Cup held in the West Indies and USA.
Disappointing T20 World Cup Campaign
Sri Lanka’s performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup was poor. They failed to reach the Super Eights, losing to South Africa and Bangladesh in the Group Stage, and only managing one win against the Netherlands. Their match against Nepal was washed out due to rain, leaving them with just three points and a third-place finish in Group D.
Sri Lanka Cricket’s Statement
Sri Lanka Cricket issued a statement on Wednesday announcing Jayawardene’s resignation. The statement read, “Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that Mr. Mahela Jayawardena, who served as the ‘Consultant Coach’ of the SLC, has tendered his resignation with immediate effect. Jayawardena, during his tenure, helped implement significant changes to the structure of the national team ecosystem and the High-Performance Centre.”
The statement concluded with, “Sri Lanka Cricket takes this opportunity to wish Mahela all the best in his future endeavours and thank him for the services he rendered during his tenure.”
Mixed Results During Tenure
Jayawardene was appointed to the role in 2022 and experienced mixed results. He led Sri Lanka to an Asia Cup title in 2022 but saw poor performances in the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup and the 2023 50-over World Cup. In the 2022 T20 Cup, Sri Lanka qualified for the Super 12s but finished fourth in their group. In the 2023 50-over World Cup, they finished ninth with two wins and seven losses, failing to qualify for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Jayawardene also worked with the U19 and Sri Lanka ‘A’ teams during his tenure.
Jayawardene’s Playing Career
During his playing days, Jayawardene played 652 international games for Sri Lanka, scoring 25,957 runs at an average of 39.15, with 54 centuries and 136 fifties. He is considered one of the greatest batters of all time and was a key player in Sri Lanka’s batting lineup during the 2000s and 2010s, alongside Kumar Sangakkara. He won the 2002 Champions Trophy and the 2014 T20 World Cup with Sri Lanka and was a runner-up in the 2007 and 2011 50-over World Cups.
