Mahela Jayawardene likely to be appointed as a consultant of the Sri Lanka U19 team

Former Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene is likely to be appointed as a Sri Lanka U19 team consultant. It is known that the 44-year-old cricketer has shown interest in this role and is most likely to come onboard from October 2021. This news comes as a sigh of relief for the Lankan cricket team as they are in need of revival.

Mahela Jayawardene will not only instill discipline at the Under-19 level, but he will also be helpful in making the players prepared for the international level. The Indian cricket team is the best example in this regard. They have managed to produce quality players relentlessly by having Rahul Dravid at the Under-19 level. 

Sri Lanka finished 10th in the last U-19 World Cup

The ICC U19 World Cup is all set to be conducted in the West Indies next year in 2022. Thus, the appointment of Mahela Jayawardene will be a big thing in Sri Lankan cricket. The 14th season of the limited-overs competition will be held for the first time in West Indies. Bangladesh will be entering the mega event as the defending champions.

Overall, 16 teams are going to take part in the tournament. 11 teams have already qualified for the tournament as they finished in the top-11 in the last edition. West Indies, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe are the teams that have already qualified for the tournament. Other teams are going to be qualified via regional qualification.

The under-19 Sri Lankan team is yet to win in the tournament history. The youth side will also be playing Youth Asia Cup and two bilateral series against England and India this year. If Jayawardene joins the team as a consultant, we can expect him to turn the tables for the youth side.

Read more articles