Mahela Jayawardene has stepped down from his role as the consultant coach for Sri Lanka Cricket, following a disappointing campaign in the ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. The Sri Lankan team failed to advance to the Super Eights, managing just one win against the Netherlands, with losses to South Africa and Bangladesh and a rain-abandoned match against Nepal. They ended their run in Group D with only three points.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) released a statement on Wednesday announcing Jayawardene’s resignation. SLC acknowledged his contributions, highlighting the structural changes he helped implement within the national team and the High-Performance Centre. Jayawardene, who took on the role in 2022, experienced mixed results during his tenure. While he led the team to an Asia Cup victory in 2022, subsequent performances in major tournaments were underwhelming. In the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka reached the Super 12s but did not advance further. The 2023 50-over World Cup saw them finishing ninth, with only two wins out of nine matches, failing to qualify for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
Jayawardene also worked with the U19 and ‘A’ teams during his time as consultant coach. His illustrious playing career included 652 international matches, amassing 25,957 runs with 54 centuries and 136 fifties, making him one of Sri Lanka’s cricket legends. He was part of the teams that won the 2002 Champions Trophy and the 2014 T20 World Cup and reached the finals of the 2007 and 2011 50-over World Cups.
Sri Lanka Cricket expressed gratitude for his services and wished him well in his future endeavors.
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