Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday announced the appointment of former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten as the new head coach of the national men’s team, effective from 15 April, 2026.
Kirsten, who enjoyed a distinguished international career representing South Africa, served as the head coach of the India men’s national team from 2008 to 2011 and the head coach of the South Africa men’s national team from 2011 to 2013.
During his tenures with the respective teams, he guided both teams to achieve significant heights in international cricket, including India winning the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2011 and South Africa becoming the number 1 ranked team in all formats in 2013. Kirsten’s most recent engagement was with Cricket Namibia during the concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 as a ‘consultant.’
During his playing career, which spanned from 1993 to 2004, Kirsten scored a total of 14,087 runs across Test and One Day International formats, including 21 Test centuries and 13 ODI centuries. His appointment with Sri Lanka Cricket will be for a two-year term ending on 14 April 2028.
Among Kirsten’s primary responsibilities will be guiding the Sri Lanka National Men’s team in its preparation and campaign for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be held in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe
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