Sri Lanka Appoints Gary Kirsten as Men’s National Team Head Coach

Gary Kirsten, the former opening batsman for South Africa national cricket team, has been appointed as the new head coach of the Sri Lanka men’s national cricket team.

Sri Lanka Cricket announced that Kirsten will officially begin his role on April 15, 2026. The former South African star enjoyed a successful international playing career and later built a strong reputation as a coach at the international level.

Kirsten previously served as head coach of the India national cricket team from 2008 to 2011, a period that saw the team win the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. He later coached the South African national side between 2011 and 2013, during which the team rose to become the top-ranked side across all formats of international cricket in 2013.

Most recently, Kirsten worked with Namibia national cricket team as a consultant during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

During his playing career from 1993 to 2004, Kirsten scored 14,087 runs in Test and One Day International cricket, including 21 centuries in Tests and 13 centuries in ODIs.

According to Sri Lanka Cricket, his contract will run for two years, concluding on April 14, 2028. One of his key tasks will be preparing the Sri Lankan side for the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

The appointment is part of Sri Lanka Cricket’s broader initiative to strengthen and restructure its National High Performance Center, aimed at improving the development and performance of the national team.