Chris Silverwood appointed Sri Lanka head coach

The former England head coach, who has been appointed on a two-year contract, will lead Sri Lanka for the first time in a two-Test series against Bangladesh in May

Chris Silverwood has been appointed head coach of Sri Lanka’s men’s national team on a two-year contract.

The 47-year-old served as England head coach from October 2019 until February 2022, when the ECB dispensed with his services following a 4-0 Ashes defeat and a run of poor performances.

He previously served as a bowling coach and later head coach at Essex, leading them to County Championship glory in 2017, and also worked as a fast bowling coach within the England set-up.

Silverwood replaces Mickey Arthur who stepped down from his position at the end of contract in December and is now head coach at Derbyshire. Rumesh Ratnayake has been serving as interim coach since his departure.

He will begin his Sri Lanka career with a two-Test series against Bangladesh in May.

^{Mickey Arthur [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

Commenting on his new role, Silverwood said: "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."

Sri Lanka Cricket CEO, Ashley De Silva, added: "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."

Silverwood inherits a Sri Lanka side who currently sit seventh in the ICC’s Test rankings, eighth in the ODI rankings, and 10th in the T20I rankings.