Post World Cup debacle, Sri Lanka coach Hathurusinghe asked to quit

Hathurusinghe

According to sources, Sri Lanka cricket's governing body has asked the team's head coach Hathurusinghe to resign.

Hathurusinghe was under pressure to quit after Sri Lanka's poor show in the recent World Cup.

Sri Lanka led by Dimuth Karunaratne won only 3 out of their 9 league games during the World Cup 2019.

However, after returning to the country, Hathurusinghe said he was keen to continue until the expiry of his contract, which was until the end of the next year.

The 51-year-old was appointed in December 2017 after he left his job with the Bangladesh team.

However, he was not able to turn around Sri Lanka's dismal performances and the team lost 13 out of the 20 ODIs played in the run-up to the World Cup under his charge, which left them at No.8 in international rankings.

Sources said Hathurusinghe was expected to return to coaching Bangladesh after the sacking of Steve Rhodes by that team.

Sports Minister Harin Fernando had earlier announced that he expected the entire Sri Lankan coaching staff to step down, taking responsibility for poor World Cup performance.

In other news, Sri Lanka cricket's stalwart Lasith Malinga is set to retire from international cricket after the first ODI of the three-match series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

With inputs from PTI

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