Chandika Hathurusingha appointed Sri Lanka team head coach
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Former Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has been named as Sri Lanka's new head coach and will take over the role from December 20, Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed on Friday. However, Hathurusingha's first assignment with Sri Lanka will be the upcoming tour of Bangladesh in January.
“Hathurusinghe rejoins Sri Lanka Cricket after previous stints as head coach of the Sri Lanka A team (2006-2009) and shadow coach of the national team (2009-2010),” an SLC release said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
The 49-year-old is highly regarded as one of the most innovative brains in the game and that was well in view during his tenure with Bangladesh as the Asian nation rose from a minnow to one among the equals. But before that, he rose to prominence as a coach when he guided an unfancied Moors SC to Sri Lanka's first-class title as a player cum coach in 2003. He then retired from first-class cricket and became the coach of UAE.
In 2007, he returned home to take over as Sri Lanka's 'A' team and following their second string team's highly successful tour of South Africa in 2009, then Test captain Kumar Sangakkara requested the board to release him for the senior side. Although he was expected to take over as head coach of the senior side from Trevor Bayliss after the 2011 World Cup, he was sacked after differences with then SLC President DS de Silva.
Currently, the Sri Lanka team is on the India tour for a long series which includes three Tests and as many numbers of ODIs and T20Is. After losing the Test series to India, the Lankans will play the first ODI of the series on December 10. Although Hathurusingha will take over the duty on December 20 - the day on which the T20 series will be started - his first full assignment will be the tour to Bangladesh in January.
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