Former Sri Lanka player Avishka Gunawardene has been appointed as U19 team Coach, while stalwart Mahinda Halangoda will be taking over at team Manager, Cricket Age exclusively learns.
Last week, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced a 26 Member under 19 National Training Squad in preparation for the upcoming Inbound Tours, U19 Asia Cup, and the U19 World Cup. The Junior National Selectors chose the squad of 26 members out of the 75 players, chosen via an Island wide Talent Profiling Program conducted by cricket board. The Talent Profiling Program was conducted in partnership with the Schools Cricket Association and the Provincial Cricket Associations. Before the selection of the 26 players, the 75 players underwent a Residential Training Program in Kandy, which consisted of skills training, game education, fitness sessions, and several practice games.
From SSC, Halangoda has played the game and more importantly brings discipline in the dressing room. He is a successful businessman and has served the U19 team on same capacity in past.
In an international career spanning almost a decade, Gunawardene represented Sri Lanka in 6 Tests and 61 ODIs.
While he totaled only 181 runs in Test cricket, Gunawardene made 1708 runs in the ODI format with a century.
The International Cricket Council in May said an independent tribunal cleared Gunawardene of two corruption charges, which allowed him to take part in cricket-related activities.
