Colombo, March 25 (IANS) Former batter Chamara Silva has been appointed head coach of Sri Lanka’s U19 Men’s team, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Tuesday. Chamara will be responsible for preparing the Sri Lanka U19 team for the ICC U19 World Cup in 2026, scheduled to be held in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The appointment, effective from March 1 until the end of 2026, is focused on preparing the team for next year’s ICC Men’s U19 World Cup, where 16 teams will compete in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The top ten teams from the previous edition have secured automatic qualification, along with hosts Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka are among the teams that have already booked their spots, joining Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Pakistan, New Zealand, South Africa, and West Indies. The remaining five teams will earn their places through regional qualifiers.
The 45-year-old brings extensive coaching experience from Sri Lanka’s domestic circuit. An ICC Level III qualified coach, he has served as head coach of the Police Sports Club, having previously coached Bloomfield Cricket Club and Panadura Sports Club.
As a player, Silva represented Sri Lanka in 11 Tests, 75 ODIs, and 16 T20Is between 1999 and 2011. His final international appearance was a T20I against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in November 2011, two days after his last ODI.
He was part of Sri Lanka’s runner-up campaigns in the 2007 and 2011 ODI World Cups. In 2011, he managed 77 runs in four innings, while in 2007, he struck four half-centuries, including three consecutive ones to start the tournament. His last Test came in 2008, having made an impressive debut in New Zealand in 2006-07, where he scored 61 and an unbeaten 152.
Silva also featured in the 2007 and 2009 T20 World Cups, with Sri Lanka finishing as runners-up in the latter after losing to Pakistan in the final.
In 2017, SLC banned him for two years due to his alleged involvement in a Tier B first-class match with irregular scoring rates. His most recent domestic appearance came last month when he played for Police Sports Club against Ace Capital Cricket Club in a Major League Tournament match in Colombo.
–IANS
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