Sri Lanka hires Samaraweera as batting coach !!!

Sri Lanka announced  former Test batsman Samaraweera as the batting coach of national team in the run up to the 2019 World Cup.

Thilan Samaraweera, who retired from Test cricket , had been a batting consultant for the Bangladesh team, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

Samaraweera is due to join the Srilankan  squad before they leave for India later this week to play three Tests, three one-day internationals and three T20 games.

Srilanka currently has an interim head coach -- South African  Pothas -- who took the duties of Graham Ford after he quit in June, midway through a 45-month contract.

Sri Lanka has had a dismal record recently losing all nine international games during a home series against India between July and September.

They won a two-match Test series against Pakistan, but lost all five one-day internationals and the three T20 matches last month.

He replaces  Tillakaratne, who had taken up the role on a temporary basis in July ahead of India’s visit to Srilanka. Tillakaratne will now go back to his role as batting coach of Srilanka’s developmental squads. A veteran of 81 Tests, in which he scored 5462 runs at 48.76, Thilan Samaraweera retired from international cricket in 2013.