Chris Silverwood appointed as head coach of Sri Lankan men's team

The former coach of the England side, Chris Silverwood is all set to take charge of the Sri Lankan national team, the country's cricket board announced on Saturday.

The 47-year old has signed a two-year contract and will join the team ahead of their upcoming away Test series against Bangladesh. 

"We are delighted to appoint Chris as the new Head Coach of the national team. He is an extremely experienced coach, and from our discussions with him in the recruitment process, it is clear he has the required qualities we are looking for to take the team forward," said Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) CEO Ashley De Silva.

"I am very excited to be on board with Sri Lanka and I cannot wait to get over to Colombo and get started. They have a talented and passionate group of players and I am really looking forward to meeting up with the players and coaching staff very soon," Silverwood said on his part.

The former England player was the Head Coach of England's national team in 2019 and also served as the bowling coach of the side under the then Head Coach, Trevor Bayliss, when England won the ICC Men's ODI World Cup in 2019.

Silverwood featured in six Tests and seven ODIs for England and played county cricket for Yorkshire and Middlesex.

After his professional playing career, he graduated to coaching and guided Mashonaland Eagles in Zimbabwe to victory in the inaugural Logan Cup before a very successful stint as the Head Coach of Essex County Cricket.

At Essex, Silverwood helped the club's promotion in his first year in charge and led them to win the County Championship in 2017, after a gap of 25 years.

(With inputs from PTI)