Sri Lanka add former Indian coach before co-hosting ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026

While the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is just less than two months away from beginning, co-hosts Sri Lanka added a former Indian coach to the team in the hope of developing the team stronger for the upcoming T20 World Cup. 

R. Sridhar joins Sri Lanka national cricket team

Former Hyderabad cricketer and the former popular fielding coach of the Indian men's national cricket team, Ramakrishnan Sridhar, popularly known as R. Sridhar, has joined the Sri Lankan men's national cricket team.

R. Sridhar is a BCCI Level 3 qualified coach who was the Indian fielding coach from 2014 to 2021. Under his tenure, where India played more than 300 international matches, including several important ICC tournaments, the fielding standards for the Men in Blues were remarkable.

Sridhar joining the Sri Lankan team isn't shocking, as the former Indian fielding coach worked in a 10-day fielding programme at the SLC National High Performance Centre early this calendar year, where the players from senior, women’s, and youth teams were actively present. 

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My role is not to impose a system: R Sridhar

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed R. Sridhar's addition to the team as the contract will run till the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which India and Sri Lanka will jointly host the tournament from February 7 to March 8, 2026. 

Sridhar said in an official SLC statement, "Sri Lankan players have always stood for instinctive brilliance, resilience, and collective spirit. My role is not to impose a system, but to nurture an environment where athleticism, awareness, and pride in the field can grow naturally."

Sridhar further added, "Fielding thrives when players feel connected to the ball, to each other, and to the moment. Sri Lanka's traditional strengths - quick hands, sharp reflexes, and fearless intent, can be further enhanced by creating realistic, game-like learning environments."

Sri Lanka are in Group B of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, where they will face Australia, Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Oman.