Former England cricketer Ian Bell has been appointed as Sri Lanka’s batting coach for the upcoming three-Test series against England. Sri Lanka Cricket announced that the 42-year-old, who was a right-handed batsman, was chosen to utilize his extensive experience from playing 118 Test matches for England. “We chose Ian to add someone with local knowledge who can provide valuable insights about the conditions there to help our players,” said Ashley de Silva, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket. “We think his advice will be beneficial for our team during this important tour.” Last month, Sri Lanka named former captain Sanath Jayasuriya as the new head coach, replacing Chris Silverwood, who left after Sri Lanka’s early elimination from the T20 World Cup.
Jayasuriya, aged 55, will serve as the temporary coach until a permanent coach is chosen for the national team.
Jayasuriya played for Sri Lanka 586 times in all three types of cricket, scoring 42 hundred runs and taking 440 wickets. His last international match was in 2011.
Silverwood, the former England coach who is 49, left his position for personal reasons, according to Sri Lanka Cricket.
Sri Lanka only won one game in the T20 World Cup, which was against the Netherlands. They ended up in third place in their group, behind South Africa and Bangladesh.
Silverwood became the coach in April 2022 and quickly saw success as Sri Lanka won the T20 Asia Cup later that year.
Sri Lanka also made it to the final of the 50-over Asia Cup in 2023.
But, they didn’t advance to the knockout rounds of the T20 World Cup in 2022 or the 50-over World Cup in 2023.
