COLOMBO: Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has been appointed the national team’s consultant for the upcoming Twenty20 (T20) World Cup in United Arab Emirates and Oman, the country’s cricket board said.
According to a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board, Mahela Jayawardene will join the team in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he is the head coach of Mumbai Indians.
Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of former Sri Lanka Captain @MahelaJay as a ‘Consultant’ to the Sri Lanka National team during the First Round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. ????
READ???? https://t.co/Dov2pvPWkz #SLC #LKA #SLU19— Sri Lanka Cricket ???????? (@OfficialSLC) September 24, 2021
Jayawardene, Sri Lanka’s second-highest scorer in Test cricket after Kumar Sangakkara, will also be a consultant and mentor to Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team for five months as they prepare for next year’s World Cup.
“We are very happy to welcome Mahela into his new roles, as his presence with the Sri Lanka Team and the U-19 team is going to help the players immensely,” said Ashley de Silva, chief executive of Sri Lanka Cricket.
“From his playing days, Mahela was respected for the vast cricketing knowledge he brought into the game, first as a player, then as a Captain, now as a Coach for different teams,” De Silva further added.
The T20 World Cup will be played in the UAE and Oman from Oct. 17. Sri Lanka, led by Dasun Shanaka, are in Group ‘A’ and begin their World Cup campaign against Namibia in Abu Dhabi. Ireland and the Netherlands are the other teams in the group.
Sri Lanka won the T20 World Cup in 2014 after beating India in the final but failed to make it beyond the group stage at the last edition in 2016.
