The 49-year-old Englishman’s exit followed days after Mahela Jayawardene quit as consultant coach after the team’s disappointing ICC men’s T20 World Cup campaign in which they failed to qualify for the Super 8s.
Photo: IANS
Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood has resigned from his role citing personal reasons, the country’s cricket board announced on Thursday. The former England quick, who was appointed to the post in 2022 received an extension last April to continue until the end of the ongoing T20 World Cup.
The 49-year-old Englishman’s exit followed days after Mahela Jayawardene quit as consultant coach after the team’s disappointing ICC men’s T20 World Cup campaign in which they failed to qualify for the Super 8s.
“Being an international coach means long periods away from loved ones. After lengthy conversations with my family and with a heavy heart, I feel it is now time for me to return home.” Silverwood was quoted as saying in a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) release.
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“It has been a real honour for me to be part of Sri Lanka Cricket and I will be taking away many fond memories,” he said.
Silverwood’s stint with the Sri Lanka team began on a positive note with the Asia Cup win in 2022. He also oversaw an ODI bilateral series win against Australia at home (3-2) during the country’s economic crisis.
Sri Lanka also finished runners-up in the 2023 Asia Cup but endured two forgettable World Cup campaigns in the last six months. They finished ninth at last year’s ODI World Cup and consequently failed to qualify for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They also crashed out of the ongoing T20 World Cup in the first round, having lost to South Africa and Bangladesh.
Under Silverwood, Sri Lanka witnessed a number of pace bowlers coming up the ranks with the likes of Dilshan Madushanka, Asitha Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, and Nuwan Thushara making themselves an integral part of the unit.
The SLC will be expected to name a new coach before the team’s three-Test tour of England, starting August 21.
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