Former South African batsman Gary Kirsten, who has worked as a coach in India, South Africa, Pakistan, Namibia and many other T20 franchises, has recently been appointed as the head coach of Sri Lanka.

Under Kirsten’s tutelage, India won the ODI World Cup in 2011, and South Africa won the Mace Test in 2012 and later that year achieved the No. 1 ranking in the ICC team rankings in all three formats simultaneously.

Kirsten was also the batting coach of the Gujarat Titans team that won the IPL in its inaugural season in 2022. Kirsten’s two-year stint as Sri Lanka head coach began on April 15 and she spoke to reporters in Colombo on Thursday about her ambitions and goals for the team.

We would all like to see the team perform well – Gary Kirsten

When asked what kind of performance she wanted from the full-back, Kirsten replied: “I think we would all like to see the team perform really well in all formats. Obviously there are some big tournaments around the corner, the men’s World Cup in 17 months. We would like to have a really good tournament there.”

While the exact dates of the tournament are not confirmed, it is expected to be held between October and November 2027. This time, the tournament will be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Sri Lanka have not reached the semi-finals of an ODI World Cup since finishing runners-up to India in 2011. Kirsten was India’s head coach at the time.

I’m trying to understand what kind of roles we want on the team-Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten stated that his immediate priority with the Sri Lanka team was to understand what type of team they want to build and what type of players would fill those roles in their teams.

“I think my priority right now and I’ve already started working on that is just understanding what roles we are looking for in each of the different formats and then what are the players that can fill those roles,” he added.

Sri Lanka’s upcoming matches

Over the years, it has been suggested that Sri Lankan players have failed to meet the modern standards of the game in terms of power and faster scoring.

When Gary Kirsten was asked if he shared the sentiment, he said his goal was to “get everyone up to speed on the modern game.” “I think there is enough skill and talent in the country to compete against the best teams in the world,” he added.

Gary Kirsten also said he wanted the team to be more consistent and cited Sri Lanka’s victory over Australia in the T20 World Cup in February. “It was a great game of cricket in Sri Lanka. So the potential is absolutely there.”

“I just want to increase consistency and you know if there are areas in the balance of the team that are not quite working, it is our role and responsibility to understand that and make sure that the skills that are required, we are preparing and developing players so that we meet our skills.”

In that tournament, which was co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, the island nation progressed from the group stage to the Super Eights, but lost all three of its matches in the second round and was knocked out of the tournament.

Gary Kirsten will take charge of Sri Lanka’s tour to the West Indies for the first time in June-July. The tour consists of 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is and 2 Tests. In August, Sri Lanka will host India for two Tests.

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