Chris Silverwood resigns as Sri Lanka head coach

Colombo Colombo: Chris Silverwood has resigned as the head coach of the Sri Lanka cricket team, citing personal reasons. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced this on Thursday. Silverwood’s resignation comes a day after former captain Mahela Jayawardene resigned as consultant coach following Sri Lanka’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup. Jayawardene was on a one-year contract from last January but resigned just six months later. Meanwhile, Silverwood said, “Being an international coach means being away from loved ones for long periods of time. After long conversations with my family and with a heavy heart, I feel it is now time for me to return home and spend some quality time with them.” Silverwood thanked Sri Lanka Cricket and other departments that have worked with him since his appointment as head coach in April 2022.

“I would like to thank the players, coaches, backroom staff and management of SLC for their support during my tenure in Sri Lanka. Without your support, none of the success would have been possible. It is truly an honour for me to be a part of Sri Lanka Cricket and I will take many fond memories with me,” he said. Under his tenure, Sri Lanka won the T20 Asia Cup in 2022 and also finished runners-up in the 2023 Asia Cup. Additionally, the team won several bilateral series both home and away. These include a home series win against Australia in the 50-over format and two Test series wins over Bangladesh.

SLC said, “Sri Lanka Cricket wishes Chris Silverwood all the best for his future endeavours and thanks him for his valuable contributions during his tenure.” The resignations of both the head coach and the consulting coach were due to the team’s disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, in which they failed to qualify for the Super Eights. Sri Lanka registered only one win against the Netherlands, while they lost to South Africa and Bangladesh and their match against Nepal in the group stage was washed out due to rain.