Sri Lanka cricket (SLC) on Sunday appointed former Test batsman Thilan Samaraweera as new batting coach to lead the team to the 2019 World Cup.
The move was confirmed by SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala and is expected to be rubber-stamped on Monday, when announced coach Samaraweera arrives Sri Lanka, reports ESPNcricinfo.
Samaraweera will face his first test on the Lions' upcoming tour to India where they will play three Tests, three ODIs and three T20 Internationals against the Men in Blue.
Coaching would not be new for the 41-year-old as he has been a batting consultant for national outfits of Bangladesh and Australia for a brief period.
Samaraweera started his career as an off-spinner.
He managed a handful of ODI games in 1998, but did not play Test cricket until August 2001. Having worked on his batting considerably he got due reward by scoring century on debut against a strong Indian side helping Sri Lanka to win the series 2-1.
He also shares a record-breaking partnership of 437 with Mahela Jayawardene.
The right-handed batsman has played in 81 Tests, scoring 5,462 runs and amassed 862 runs in 53 ODIs.
Samaraweera retired from all forms of the game in 2013.
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