Former Afghanistan coach set to become Sri Lanka Head Coach after T20 World Cup 2026 exit

After a disappointing campaign at the T20 World Cup 2026, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board is likely to change the head coach. Former international Sanath Jayasuriya, the present coach of the team, has hinted at stepping down from the role in the future. 

If Jayasuriya bids adieu to the job, then who will be the new head coach of the men’s cricket team of Sri Lanka? According to the latest reports, Former Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott is the front-runner to become Sri Lanka's next head coach.

Trott stepped down from his previous job as Afghanistan took an early exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup.  While Afghanistan was knocked out of the tournament from the group stage, Sri Lanka, the co-host of the tournament, progressed into the Super 8 and crashed out before qualifying for the semi-finals.  Trott’s 3 years long journey with the Afghanistan cricket team came to an end as soon as they sustained the disappointing run.

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Jonathan Trott is likely to replace Sanath Jayasuriya as the head coach of Sri Lanka

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed England-born Richard Pybus as the new head coach for their national team. On the other side,  Sanath Jayasuriya, the current head coach of the Sri Lanka national cricket team, has hinted that he may leave his role after the team’s disappointing T20 World Cup 2026 campaign at home.

"I thought I should give that title to someone else. That’s why I mentioned two months ago during the England series that I have no plans to stay here. I feel sorry about how the World Cup ended. I could have taken this team forward for one and a half years. We moved up in rankings across formats and took the team to better positions. My contract ends in June. I have not given my official decision to Sri Lanka Cricket yet. I need to discuss with them what comes next”,  Jayasuriya said. If the reports are to be believed, then Jothan Trott can replace Jayasuriya in the near future.