Hashan Tillakaratne appointed as Sri Lanka's batting coach for India series

Photo: AFP New Delhi: Sri Lanka’s former skipper Hashan Tillakaratne has been appointed as the new batting coach on temporary basis and will stay with the team atleast till the end of the Test series against India.  The 50-year-old, who joined Sri Lanka Cricket last year as a coach, worked with the development teams before being promoted to the senior side ahead of the current series. "Hashan's experience in Test cricket will help us immensely. He is doing a great job with the boys," said the team's Cricket Manager Asanka Gurusinha in an interview. When asked about his future with the team, Asanka 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.” Tillakaratne, a veteran of 83 Test matches, captained Sri Lanka in 2003-2004. He was the first Sri Lankan to score a Test hundred in South Africa. Apart from being a solid middle order batsman, Tillakaratne was also a brilliant fielder. The Sri Lankan team and the management has been going some major changes with a new squad in the making. Earlier last week, Chaminda Vaas was named as the team's Bowling Coach after Champaka Ramanayake stepped down.