Ian Bell Named as Batting Coach for England Tour of Sri Lanka

Former England cricketer Ian Bell was designated Tuesday as Sri Lanka’s batting mentor for the three-game Test series against England. The Sri Lanka Cricket board stated that the 42-year-old former right-hand batsman was recruited to leverage his experience of participating in 118 Tests for England. “We selected Ian to introduce a person with local expertise to assist the players with crucial insights on the circumstances there,” Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva mentioned. “We are confident that his suggestions will benefit our squad on this vital journey.” Sri Lanka appointed ex-captain Sanath Jayasuriya last month to take over head coach duties from Chris Silverwood, who resigned after the team’s premature departure from the T20 World Cup.

Jayasuriya, 55, will serve as the “temporary” coach until a permanent selection is made for the national team.

Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka in a total of 586 matches across the three game formats, achieving 42 centuries and securing 440 wickets. His final international appearance was in 2011.

Former England coach Silverwood, 49, stepped down due to “personal motives,” as per Sri Lanka Cricket.

Sri Lanka clinched only one victory in the T20 World Cup competition, defeating the Netherlands, and concluded third in their group behind South Africa and Bangladesh.

Silverwood assumed leadership in April 2022 and experienced prompt triumph when Sri Lanka emerged victorious in the T20 Asia Cup that year.

Subsequently, Sri Lanka progressed to the final of the 50-over Asia Cup in 2023.

Nevertheless, they fell short of advancing to the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup in 2022 and the previous year’s 50-over World Cup.