Gunawardene appointed SL A coach; Dias to coach U-19s

Former Sri Lanka opener Avishka Gunawardene has been appointed coach of the Sri Lanka A team, while former senior team coach Roy Dias will take up a similar role with the Under-19 side. Both teams are scheduled to tour England in July, while the Sri Lanka U-19 team will also tour South Africa later.

Gunawardene is part of Sri Lanka Cricket's coaching panel and, until recently, was assistant coach of the U-19 team. He played six Tests and 61 ODIs between 1998 and 2006, scoring one century against West Indies in the ICC knockout in 2000. He is also remembered for his 53 against South Africa in the semi-final of the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, where Sri Lanka lost by one wicket.

Dias, who played 20 Tests and 58 ODIs between 1979 and 1987, was appointed Sri Lanka coach in 1998 before he took up the role with Oman and Nepal. Dias coached Nepal's junior and senior sides.

Sri Lanka A will play two four-day games against Pakistan A from July 3, followed by a 50-over tri-series between the two teams and England A from July 18. Sri Lanka U-19 will play two Youth Tests against England U-19 from July 26, while the three-match Youth ODI series starts from August 10.