De Silva reappointed SL women head coach

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday announced the appointment of Harsha de Silva as the head coach of the Sri Lankan Women’s cricket team, for a period of 2 years.

De Silva had earlier led the girls to one of their most successful World Cup campaign, before leaving for Australia to coach the Wynnum Manly District Cricket Club in the Brisbane Premier Grade Competition.

De Silva started off as a junior coach at St. Joseph’s, before being promoted in 2001. He then worked as the Head Coach of Ragama Cricket Club from 2007 to 2010, before taking over the Sri Lankan Women’s team. He oversaw the team’s superb campaign in the 2013 edition, as the team beat fancied opponents like hosts India, England, and South Africa.

Earlier in the year, Hemantha Devapriya had resigned following Sri Lanka’s shocking defeat at the hands of Thailand in the Asia Cup in June. Sri Lanka under Devapriya won only one game (against Pakistan) in the 2017 World Cup and post that lost an away series versus Windies and a home series against Pakistan.

The defeat against minnows Thailand is considered to be the tipping point, prompting the 60-year-old coach to put his papers down. De Silva, who’s credited for mentoring renowned cricketers in the country like Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Chamari Athapaththu and Sashikala Siriwardene, will look to revive the women’s team fortune in the forthcoming days.