Former England cricketer Chris Silverwood has been appointed as the head coach of Sri Lanka men’s national team for a period of two years, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confimed on Saturday.
“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 SLC, in the board’s statement.
The Islanders were without a full-time head coach since the resignation of South Africa’s Mickey Arthur, who left the job last year to become Derbyshire’s head of cricket.
“I am very excited to be on board with Sri Lanka and I cannot wait to get over to Colombo and get started,” Silverwood said in an official statement.
“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,” he added.
The 47-year-old stepped down from England’s head coach position in February this year after Joe Root & Co. lost the five-match Test Ashes series against Pat Cummins’ Australia (4-0).
Silverwood’s first competitive assignment with the Sri Lankan team will be a two-Test series against the hosts Bangladesh, starting May 15 in Chattogram.
