Gary Kirsten Appointed Head Coach of Sri Lanka Men’s Cricket Team

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has chosen Gary Kirsten to be the new head coach of the men’s team. This happened after Sanath Jayasuriya quit following Sri Lanka’s loss to England in Pallekele. Despite being in contention to reach the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026, Jayasuriya had already made up his mind to leave. In fact, he’d made his intentions clear in January.

Gary Kirsten Appointed New Head Coach of Sri Lanka Men’s Team

His contract was supposed to last until March 31, but he decided to quit. In less than three weeks, SLC has already found someone to replace Jayasuriya.

 In a press release, the cricket body confirmed former South Africa cricketer and well-respected coach Gary Kirsten as their head coach for the next 2 years.

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed Gary Kirsten as Head Coach of the Men's National side. pic.twitter.com/J9HcekOx3I

— Estelle Vasudevan (@Estelle_Vasude1) March 9, 2026

Kirsten will start as head coach on April 15, so he won’t coach Sri Lanka in their white-ball series against Afghanistan in March. His contract will last until April 14, 2028. Which means he’ll be there for the remainder of the 2025-27 World Test Championship and the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.