Sri Lanka appoint Gary Kirsten as new head coach

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former South African batsman Gary Kirsten as the head coach of the national men’s team. He will officially begin his role on 15 April 2026. Kirsten has signed a two-year contract which will run until 14 April 2028.

Kirsten enjoyed a long international career with South Africa, playing for more than a decade. The left-handed opener represented South Africa from 1993 to 2004 and scored a total of 14,087 runs across Test and One Day International formats. His career included 21 Test centuries and 13 ODI centuries.

After retiring from playing, Kirsten also built a successful coaching career. In 2008, he took charge of the Indian national team and helped take the side to new heights. Under his coaching, India won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011 on home soil.

Following his tenure with India, Kirsten served as the head coach of South Africa from 2011 to 2013. During his time in charge, South Africa rose to the number one ranking in all three formats of international cricket.

Most recently, he worked as a consultant with the Namibia team during the latest T20 tournament.

Sri Lanka Cricket said the appointment is part of a broader plan to improve the national team’s performance and restructure the high-performance system. Kirsten will primarily focus on preparations for the 2027 Cricket World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The board hopes that under the guidance of the experienced coach, Sri Lanka will move forward with a new strategy and once again become a competitive force in major international tournaments.