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Chris Silverwood has been appointed as the new head coach of Sri Lankan team. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced the decision on April 9 (Saturday). Silverwood will replace Rumesh Ratnayake, who was serving as the interim coach. The former England cricketer has been handed a two-year contract.
Silverwood's first campaign will begin with Sri Lanka's tour of Bangladesh in May 2022. Sri Lanka's Bangladesh tour includes one two-day practice match and two Tests. The tour will begin on May 11 and go in till May 27.
The 47-year-old previously coached England cricket team from 2019 to early 2022. The Yorkshire-born cricketer had to give up the top job due to widespread criticism after England’s embarrassing Ashes 2021-22 loss.
"I am very excited to be on board with Sri Lanka and I cannot wait to get over to Colombo and get started. They have a talented and passionate group of players and I am really looking forward to meeting up with the players and coaching staff very soon," said Chris Silverwood.
"We are delighted to appoint Chris as the new Head Coach of the national team. He is an extremely experienced coach and from our discussions with him in the recruitment process it is clear he has the required qualities we are looking for to take the team forward,'' said Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket.
Sri Lanka recently faced heavy defeat against India in the two-Test series. The Dimuth Karunaratne-led side was beaten by an innings and 222 runs in the first Test. It was followed by a 238-run loss in the pink-ball Test. In the T20I series, they were whitewashed as well.
Sri Lanka are currently placed seventh in the ICC Test rankings. In the ODI format they are placed eighth whereas in T20s, they occupy the 10th spot. After two big defeats against Sri Lanka, they are now placed fifth on ICC World Test Champions 2021-23 table. They have 24 points and a win percentage of 50.
