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Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene is likely to be appointed as the consultant of Sri Lanka U-19 team. According to a media report, the current coach of the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians, has shown interest "in principle" to take over as the consultant of the U-19 Sri Lanka side from October 2021.
However, a senior board member of Sri Lanka Cricket has said that they are not aware of any such development.
Efforts to contact Jayawardene on the new appointment were not successful: SLC official
"We (SLC) are not aware of such a move. The move would have been made by the Technical Committee (headed by Aravinda de Silva)," a senior SLC ex-co official meanwhile disclosed a media outlet.
"Our efforts to contact Jayawardene on the possible new appointment were not successful last afternoon," he added.
U-19 World Cup set to happen in 2022 in West Indies
If the reports indeed happen to be true then the island country could get the services of one of the best tacticians of the game who has been a loyal servant of Sri Lanka Cricket. The next U-19 World Cup is set to happen in 2022 and will be the 14th edition of the tournament which will see as many as 16 teams. Moreover, the West Indies are hosting this event for the first time.
As many as eleven teams - Australia, India, Afghanistan, South Africa, defending champions Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England, West Indies, Zimbabwe - have already secured a berth in the tournament.
It should be noted that Sri Lanka has never won the competition in its history.