SL part ways with Moody ahead of World Cup

COLOMBO: Australian former international Tom Moody is set to leave his post as Sri Lanka’s director of cricket, officials said on Monday, weeks before the T20 World Cup.

The 56-year-old’s three-year contract is being terminated by “mutual agreement”, Mohan de Silva, secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), told AFP. A senior cricket source who did not wish to be named said that SLC “could not afford his fees in the long run”, despite having savings of over $40 million.

“We also feel we need a person who is more hands-on, who can spend more time in Sri Lanka,” the source added. The source said that the former Test player was paid $1,850 a day plus expenses for the 100 days a year he was expected to spend in the country, which is suffering its worst economic downturn.

Moody will leave by the end of this month or before the T20 World Cup starts in Australia next month, another source said. Former Sri Lanka head coach Moody was appointed director of cricket in February last year to help prepare the team for the T20 World Cup and the 50-over version in India in 2023.