Sanath Jayasuriya appointed Sri Lanka’s cricket consultant for one year

Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed Sri Lanka Cricket’s full-time “cricket consultant” for a year. In this role, he will oversee both players and coaches working at SLC’s high performance centre in Khettarama, will be engaged in “individual skill development strategies” for players, and will monitor coaching staff as well.

“[Jayasuriya] will also establish national specialist skills programs with key staff aligned to lead roles within each skill discipline, among several other tasks,” the board release said.

This is Jayasuriya’s first role with SLC after having been banned from all cricket for two years by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit in 2019. He had incurred that ban after admitting to two charges – the failure or refusal to cooperate with an investigation, and obstructing or delaying an investigation, under the anti-corruption code.

He had previously been Sri Lanka’s chief selector in two controversial stints. In the first he had been accused of favouring a player close to the government he was part of as a member of parliament. The second stint had been characterised by substantial turnover in the men’s national team. The ACU’s charges are understood to have related to his second term as chief selector.

Jayasuriya’s appointment is the second significant appointment over the past few days, with the Upul Tharanga-led selection committee also having been named this week.

(Source: ESPN – By Andrew Fidel Fernando)