# Sri Lanka appoint 1996 World Cup winner Tillakaratne as batting coach 2026-08-21T15:42:13+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Sri Lanka Cricket has named former batter Hashan Tillakaratne as batting coach of the Senior Men's Program with immediate effect, on a contract that runs until December 31, 2027. The 59-year-old, a member of Sri Lanka's 1996 ODI World Cup-winning team, will work with national players at the SLC National High Performance Center. The appointment comes ahead of Sri Lanka's second Test against India and as the team begins preparations for next year's ODI World Cup, co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in October and November 2026. Tillakaratne has previously served as batting coach of Sri Lanka's men's team, head coach of the Sri Lanka women's team, and head coach of the Bangladesh women's national team. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Sri Lanka's batting has struggled in recent Test series, averaging under 25 in 2024-25. Tillakaratne's immediate task will be to stabilise the top order against India's attack. His long-term remit through 2027 signals the board wants continuity ahead of the World Cup, not a quick fix. Watch whether he can lift Sri Lanka's conversion rate of starts to centuries, a key gap since the retirement of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. ## Coverage - news.abplive.com Straight factual announcement with no framing or editorialising, led by appointment and contract details. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Hashan Tillakaratne, India vs Sri Lanka, ODI World Cup, Sri Lanka cricket Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sri-lanka-appoint-1996-world-cup-winner-tillakaratne-as-batting-coach/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sri-lanka-appoint-1996-world-cup-winner-tillakaratne-as-batting-coach/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/