Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Monday that former captain Mahela Jayawardena has been appointed as the 'Consultant Coach' for its national teams. Jayawardene's term begins on January 1, 2022, and will last for a year. He will continue in his current role with the U-19 team as mentor-consultant ahead of next year's U19 World Cup in West Indies.Previously, Jayawardene was the consultant of the senior men's team in the First Round of the ICC M'n's T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman. "This is an exciting opportunity to work with the national cricketers and coaches in our various development squads, including the U19 and 'A' Team teams, to help us do justice to the enormous cricketing talent and potential in Sri Lanka," said Jayawardene in a release."I am very passionate about Sri Lankan cricket and believe that with a coordinated and focused team effort, taking a holistic approach working across all age groups, we can achieve consistent success in the future.
My main role will be supporting our team of national coaches and support staff in terms of our preparation and strategic thinking during the coming year," added Jayawardene. In his new role, Jayawardene will be in charge of the overall cricketing element of the Sri Lankan national teams and will provide invaluable strategic support for the players and management teams at the High-Performance Centre. His appointment was done by Sri Lanka Cricket's Executive Committee in consultatieon with the Technical Advisory Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket."We are extremely happy that Mahela is joining the National Team for an extended role, especially given the context that Sri Lanka has a heavy international calendar during the year 2022. Mahela's contributions during the first round of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup became invaluable for the overall performances of our team in the concluded event," said Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket.Jayawardene represented his Sri Lanka in 149 Tests, 448 ODIs, and 55 T20Is, scoring over 10,000 runs apart from being a member of th' 2014 Men's T20 World Cup-winning team and featuring in five ICC tournaments finals. After retiring, he transitioned into coaching and served as batting consultant of England, head coach of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians, Khulna Titans in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), and Southern Brave in Men's Hundred.