Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya Opts to Step Aside as Coach After T20 World Cup 2026 Exit

T20 World Cup 2026: Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya has announced his decision to step down as head coach of Sri Lanka following the team's exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. He took the call after Sri Lanka failed to win even one of their three Super 8 games. It is not clear who takes over after Jayasuriya. It is understood that discussions with several foreign candidates are on and a final call would be taken soon. 

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Jayasuriya made his decision final after Sri Lanka's heartbreaking loss against Pakistan in the Super 8 clash on Saturday.

‘Thought it was time’

"I thought it was time to give it to someone else," said Jayasuriya.

He added: "That's why about two months ago I'd said during the England series that I don't have hopes of staying in the job for long. I'd taken this decision by then. I thought I'd be able to leave as coach on a good note in the World Cup. I wasn't able to do that as well as I'd like, and I'm sad about that."

His contract expires in June. He took over in 2024. 

"My contract runs till June," he said. "I haven't given SLC any news officially yet. They don't know that I am going to say this even. I will need to go and discuss with them. If they can get somebody [to coach the team] then definitely [they should do that]."

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Jayasuriya's Achievements

Jayasuriya has had an impact since taking over as the coach. During his tenure, Sri Lanka recorded their first ODI bilateral series win against India in 27 years in August 2024, before going on to win a Test at The Oval in September that year, then beating New Zealand 2-0 at home soon after, also in Tests. It seems he may have continued had Sri Lanka qualified for the semis.