Mahela Jayawardene Resigns as Consultant Coach of Sri Lanka Cricket Team after Horrid T20 World Cup Show

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has stepped down as the Sri Lankan cricket team’s consultant coach.

The former Sri Lanka batter announced his decision to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) and the board has accepted his decision to step down.

Jayawardene will step down with immediate effect. The decision has come after Sri Lanka’s horrid show in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, where the team failed to make it to the Super Eight stage.

The 47-year-old former skipper was appointed as the consultant coach in 2022 for one year and his contract was later extended by one more year.

Sri Lanka Cricket, in a media statement, said Jayawardene made valuable contributions to the cricketing ecosystem in the island nation. “Jayawardena, during his tenure, helped implement significant changes to the structure of the national team ecosystem and the High-Performance Centre,” the statement read.

The cricket board wished the 47-year-old the best for his future endeavours. “Sri Lanka Cricket takes this opportunity to wish Mahela all the best in his future endeavours and thank him for the services he rendered during his tenure,” the statement added.

Sri Lanka, under captain Wanindu Hasaranga, won only one match out of the three that they played in the group stages of the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. They started with a six-wicket loss to South Africa and then lost to Bangladesh by two wickets. Their third match against Nepal was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to heavy rains and floods in Florida, effectively ending their World Cup campaign.

They won their last match against the Netherlands by 83 runs but by then their campaign was over.

Sri Lanka will host India for a white-ball series next before embarking on a tour to England.