Legendary Mahela Jayawardene has resigned from the post of Sri Lanka Cricket's consultant coach with immidiate effect on June 26. This news came after Sri Lanka's disappointing early exit from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024. Besides Sri Lanka's senior team, Jayawardene was also the batting consultant for the Under-19 team and A team.
Mahela Jayawardene resigns as Sri Lanka's consultant coach
"Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that Mr. Mahela Jayawardena, who served as the ‘Consultant Coach’ of the SLC, has tendered his resignation with immediate effect," said SLC in a press release.
"Sri Lanka Cricket takes this opportunity to wish Mahela all the best in his future endeavours and thank him for the services he rendered during his tenure," the press release further added.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) acknowledged Mahela Jayawardena's valuable service during his time as consultant coach. In a statement, SLC expressed gratitude for his positive influence on the national team's development and the overall improvement of Sri Lanka's cricketing infrastructure. Notably, Jayawardena played a key role in implementing significant changes to the national team's structure and the High-Performance Center during his tenure, which began on December 13, 2021, and lasted for one year, concluding on June 26, 2024.
Jayawardene had taken up the position in 2022 for a year which was extended by another year. Sri Lanka had a disappointing run at the T20 World Cup, failing to advance to the Super 8 stage of the tournament. Their performance was lackluster, resulting in an early exit from the competition.
The 47-year-old saw the Sri Lankan team win the Asia Cup 2022 in the UAE, but they failed to replicate that success in the following ICC tournaments. They were eliminated in the group stages of the 2022 T20 World Cup, the 2023 World Cup, and the 2024 T20 World Cup. Reports also suggest he was absent from the Sri Lankan camp during the T20 World Cup 2024.
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