Former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has resigned from his position as the Sri Lankan national men’s team’s consultant coach, with six months still left in his tenure. His decision comes after a mixed performance by the Sri Lankan team in recent tournaments.
Jayawardene began his role as a consultant coach in 2022, and during his tenure, he played a crucial part in implementing significant changes to the structure of the national team ecosystem and the High-Performance Center. Notably, he championed the National Super League, Sri Lanka’s domestic competition, and focused on technical improvements and data analytics.
Despite an unexpected win in the 2022 Asia Cup and reaching the final a year later, Sri Lanka faced disappointing results in the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups and the 2023 ODI World Cup. Jayawardene’s position had been under scrutiny, but Sri Lanka Cricket had initially been keen to extend his role due to his positive impact behind the scenes.
Mahela Jayawardene Opens Up on His Decision to Step Down
However, Jayawardene expressed that the current decision-making was no longer fully aligned with the direction they were taking in certain areas. In his resignation letter, he stated, “It is best I step down.” Jayawardene remains the second-most successful coach in the IPL and currently serves as the global head of performance at Mumbai Indians and its franchises.
His departure marks a significant change for Sri Lanka Cricket, and the team will need to adapt to new leadership as they move forward. The cricketing world will watch closely to see how this transition impacts the team’s performance in upcoming tournaments .
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