Gary Kirsten has succeeded Sanath Jayasuriya as the head coach of the Sri Lankan men’s cricket team. Kirsten will take charge of the team from April 15 and has been initially appointed by the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) as the coach for a period of two years.
Jayasuriya stepped down from the role after Sri Lanka’s disappointing campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. At the same tournament, Kirsten served as a consultant for Namibia.
Sri Lanka becomes the third Asian team that will be coached by Kirsten. The South African has previously worked with India and Pakistan.
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Under Kirsten, Indian cricket reached two historic milestones. In 2009, India became the No. 1 Test team in the world for the first time in the ICC rankings, and two years later in 2011 the team won the ICC ODI World Cup, ending a 28-year wait for the title.
In 2024, he was appointed as the head coach of Pakistan’s white-ball team. But Kirsten had a frustrating time as his stint lasted a mere six months due to differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Between coaching India and spending little time with the Pakistan team, he coached the South Africa men’s team from 2011 to 2013. And like India, South Africa too became the no.1 Test side in the world under his tenure. The coronation happened when the Proteas defeated England 2-0 in an away Test series.
Kirsten also has extensive experience in coaching in the T20 leagues as well. To his credit, he has worked with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Hobart Hurricanes in the Australian Big Bash League.
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With Kirsten at the helm, Sri Lanka is hoping to get valuable insights of the playing conditions prevailing in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe as the three African countries will jointly host the 2027 ODI World Cup, the next major senior ICC men’s event.
Sri Lanka have failed to reach the semifinals for the fifth consecutive time in T20 World Cups since winning the 2014 edition. The years from 2009 to 2014 were considered Sri Lanka’s golden era as the team reached the semifinals of the competition on four straight occasions — finishing runners-up in 2009 and 2012. It was also the time when Sri Lanka was also flourishing in the ODIs as the team reached back-to-back finals of the ODI World Cups in 2007 and 2011.
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