Jayaratne appointed Sri Lanka Cricket's head of coaching

Jerome Jayaratne, the former Sri Lanka Under-19 cricketer, has been appointed Sri Lanka Cricket's (SLC) head of coaching by the board's interim committee headed by Arjuna Ranatunga. However, his role does not extend to the national team, which is coached by Trevor Bayliss.

On his new role, Jayaratne, who has coaching certificates from Cricket Australia and the England Cricket Board, said: "There has been much work done in the area of coaching by SLC over the years. However, my attention and focus is to build on what has been built.

"Any changes, whether it will be [to] a position held by someone at present or to the existing system will not be for the sake of a change. It will be purely for better productivity of the establishment."

Jayaratne, who previously held the posts of manager-coaching as well as coach of the SLC academy squad, detailed his plans. "Studying the existing system, I feel there is work to be done. There will be structural changes and new divisions will be set up within the coaching area. This will help have a better structure as a department. We also need to create a better environment for cricket training and coach education programs conducted by the coaching department."

He also stressed on the need for transparency. "I earnestly hope that through the Sri Lankan media, we will be able to reach out to the cricketing and coaching fraternity throughout the country." He said the 'New Coaching Structure', as well as a work-plan document will be published shortly.

During his stint as academy coach, Jayaratne unearthed five cricketers who went on to play for Sri Lanka: Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Dilruwan Perera, Chanaka Welagedera and Ajantha Mendis. His work main involved educating coaches and overseeing provincial and district coaches deployed around the country.