SLC appoints Lanka de Silva as interim head coach of women's team
Aug 08, 2020
Colombo [Sri Lanka], Aug 8 : Former Sri Lanka's Test wicket-keeper, Lanka de Silva, has been appointed as the interim head coach of Sri Lanka women's side, replacing Harsha de Silva.
He will now be in charge of the side until the end of this year while Sri Lanka Cricket searches for a long term prospect, ESPNCricinfo reported.
"Lanka de Silva is also free to apply for the role," ESPNCricinfo quoted SLC CEO Ashley de Silva as saying.
Lanka has long been a coach within the Sri Lankan system, and he recently worked with the men's Under-19 team.
Sri Lanka does not have any matches scheduled until the end of 2020, and the 2021 ODI World Cup Qualifiers which were originally slated to be held in the country in July this year, have been pushed back by a year.
Sri Lanka is likely to remain the host for the qualifiers.
The Women's 50-over World Cup which was slated to be played in 2021 in New Zealand has also been postponed to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, SLC decided to not continue with Harsha as the coach because of the performances of the women's side under his tenure.
Sri Lanka lost each of their 19 matches in 2019, and only won their game against Bangladesh in this year's T20 World Cup.
The new coach will now be tasked with rebuilding parts of the team, with allrounders Shashikala Siriwardene and Sripali Weerakkody having retired over the past few months.
