Sri Lanka unveil Gary Kirsten as men's head coach

Former South Africa batter Gary Kirsten has been named the head coach of Sri Lanka's men’s national team. He will replace Sanath Jayasuriya, who vacated the role after the team’s Super Eight exit from the T20 World Cup 2026, which Sri Lanka co-hosted with eventual champions India.

Kirsten, who played 101 Tests and 185 ODIs for South Africa, has signed a two-year contract and will commence his tenure on April 15. His contract will end in mid-April 2028, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed.

The former Proteas opener has a decorated coaching CV, having guided India to their 2011 ODI World Cup title at home as well as overseeing their rise to become the No. 1-ranked Test team. He later coached South Africa for two years, a period in which the team, like India, rose to the top spot in Test rankings.

Kirsten was later appointed as Pakistan's white-ball coach in April 2024, although he could not finish his designated tenure due to issues with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and players. He was serving as Namibia’s consultant coach at the recently-concluded T20 World Cup.

Kirsten has also been part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), having served as Gujarat Titans’ batting coach in 2022 when they won the championship in their inaugural edition. He has also been associated with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

Kirsten, who had over 14,000 runs in international cricket, will set his eyes on 2027 men's ODI World Cup, which will be played in South Africa, alongside Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Curiously, Sri Lanka have been hugely successful under foreign coaches, having won the 1996 World Cup under Dav Whatmore and qualified for World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011 with Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss at the helm.

Kirsten’s appointment is the second major one in the recent past after Sri Lanka named Jamie Siddons as women’s team head coach.