Sri Lanka have roped in the ex-India coach Vikram Rathour, as the T20 World Cup 2026 batting coach with the starting date of February 7, 2026. Rathour will be associated with the Sri Lankan team who were the victors of the T20 World Cup back in 2014, and the team is confident that with the batting coach, the matter of inconsistency in their batting will be dealt with.
Vikram Rathour Joins Sri Lanka Ahead of Home T20 World Cup 2026
The 55 years old Vikram Rathour is said to be coming to the Sri Lanka T20I team on January 15, just in time for the important three-match bilateral series with two-time winners England, which will be the last thing before the T20 World Cup 2026. This move is seeming to be more of a strategy than anything else since India is the co-host for the event in question. The pressure of expectations will be a challenge for the players and his experience, and the history of working with the best international batsmen should help Sri Lanka get a long way in the tournament.
It is worth mentioning that the year 2026 will see Sri Lanka receiving England for a series of three ODIs and three T20Is before the T20 World Cup. The ODI series will take place from January 22 to January 27. The T20I series will be completed by February 3.
Vikram Rathour’s coaching experience and accomplishments
Vikram Rathour has a remarkably large coaching experience, having been part of the Indian cricket team for almost six years. From 2019 to 2021, Rathour was a member of the coaching staff under Ravi Shastri, taking over from Sanjay Bangar. Despite Shastri’s decision to leave after the 2021 T20 World Cup, Rathour was allowed to work under Dravid’s supervision from October 2021 to June 2025. During this time, India was the runner-up at the ODI World Cup 2023 and the champion at the T20 World Cup 2024.
New Zealand Cricket first hired him as a batting consultant for a Test match against Afghanistan scheduled for September 2024 which was eventually cancelled due to rain.
He was then the batting coach for IPL 2025 with the Rajasthan Royals and head coach Rahul Dravid. Dravid left the position, but Rathour stayed with the Royals during IPL 2026.