Sri Lanka Likely To Appoint India's World Cup Winning Coach For T20 WC 2026: Report

Sri Lanka haven't had the ideal T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. The Lankans crashed out of the T20 World Cup from the group stage, but are adamant this time to bank on their home comfort. Sri Lanka will kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign against Ireland on February 8.

Sri Lanka Top Appoint Indian Batting Coach

The preparations have been in full swing, and they are likely to make some changes to their coaching staff. As per reports, Sri Lanka are closing in on appointing Vikram Rathour as the batting coach for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Rathour was a part of India's T20 World Cup-winning contingent and played a pivotal part as Rohit Sharma led the country to their 2nd T20 World Cup title.

Rathour left the Indian team last year and is now serving as the assistant coach of the IPL side Rajasthan Royals. Rathour is expected to join the Sri Lankan side during the current white-ball series against Pakistan. Rathour will be the second Indian to join the Sri Lanka side after R Sridhar was appointed as the fielding coach of the men's cricket team until the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2026.

India To Play Additional T20I Matches To help Sri Lanka

Sri lanka are pitted in Group B along with Australia, Ireland, Oman and Zimbabwe. The Indian cricket team will play extra T20I matches during their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, as a gesture of solidarity with the nation’s relief and recovery efforts following Cyclone Ditwah. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Chairman Shammi Silva announced that the additional fixtures will be scheduled alongside India’s visit later this year, when they are set to contest two Test matches as part of the ongoing World Test Championship.

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The BCCI had agreed to play two T20I matches as part of the relief plan, but time constraints and the unavailability of a broadcaster derailed the plans.

Also Read: Bangladesh To Play In India, ICC Rejects Request To Shift T20 World Cup 2026 Matches To Sri Lanka