“With all his experience, there is a lot the batsmen can learn from him”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Hashan Tillakaratne has been named Sri Lanka’s temporary batting coach and will be with the national team at least until the end of the upcoming Test series against India.

Tillakaratne was appointed as a coach in Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) system back in December and previously served as a selector between January 2013 and April 2015.

Sri Lanka have not had a permanent batting coach since Marvan Atapattu was promoted to head coach in 2014, but it remains to be seen whether Tillakaratne will continue on as batting coach beyond the Test series against India.

“Hashan has been with us since the recent Test match against Zimbabwe, actually,” Sri Lanka manager Asanka Gurusinha said. “At this stage, for all the Tests he will be batting coach. Most probably after the Indian series we’ll discuss with coach Nic Pothas and see what’s happening from there. With all his experience, there is a lot the batsmen can learn from him.”

Tillakaratne, who captained Sri Lanka in 11 Tests, played a total of 83 Test matches and scored 4,545 runs, which included 11 centuries and 20 fifties, at an average of 42.87.

He also featured in 200 ODIs and accumulated 3,789 runs, which included two hundreds and 13 half-centuries, at an average of 29.60.