Sri Lanka appoint South African mentor Gary Kirsten as new head coach

A former head coach of India and Pakistan, Kirsten will take over the reins from  Sanath Jayasuriya after Sri Lanka failed to make the semifinals of recent global tournament.

A legendary player with Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya officially resigned as coach following the T20 World Cup's conclusion and will now lead the High Performance Centre.

A former South Africa international, Kirsten famously was the helm when India won the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2011.

Kirsten also led the Proteas to the top of the world Test rankings in 2012 and was involved with Namibia as a consultant t the recent T20 World Cup.

He will hope to join a long line of non-Sri Lankan coaches who have significantly influenced the nation's cricketing history.

Australia duo Tom Moody and Trevor Bayliss led Sri Lanka to the 2007 ad 2011 World Cup finals while Dave Whatmore orchestrated the historic 1996 World Cup victory.

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