Sri Lanka Cricket to appoint new head coach

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced that they will appoint a new head coach for the women's team ahead of the ICC Women's World Cup qualifiers. Ashley de Silva, SLC's chief executive officer, added that the new coach would be expected to assume duties in August. The board has refused to extend the contract of Harsha de Silva, the current head coach.



"We are currently reviewing the performances of all coaches and we decided not to extend the contract of Harsha de Silva,” Ashley de Silva told the Daily News on Friday (June 12). “We gave him a two-year contract, however, at this time we have decided to explore forthwith the possibilities required to attain the services from another coach."



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He further added that the board have already commenced the recruitment process and will not be looking to hire a foreign coach. He said they have identified a potential candidate.



Harsha de Silva, who took over as head coach ahead of the 2018 Women's T20 World Cup in August that year, has been unable to inspire the team to victory. During his reign, Sri Lanka have only recorded one win in 12 ODIs - a historic victory over India in Katunayake in September 2018 - and two wins across 21 T20Is. They finished eighth in the ICC Women's ODI Championship.



In both the 2018 and 2020 T20 World Cups, Sri Lanka finished fourth in their group, winning their only game against Bangladesh in each edition.



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The team went into the South Asian Games in Nepal last December as favourites to win the gold medal, but were toppled by Bangladesh in the final.



The Women's World Cup qualifiers were meant to be held in Sri Lanka in July. However, the event has been postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



All of Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States, West Indies, and Zimbabwe were set to compete for the three remaining spots in the Women's World Cup in New Zealand next year. The ICC are yet to announce a decision on when the tournament is likely to be held.