Former England player Ian Bell was named Tuesday as Sri Lanka's batting coach for the three-match Test series against England. Sri Lanka Cricket said the 42-year-old former right-hand batter was hired to draw on his experience of playing 118 Tests for England.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there," Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka appointed former skipper Sanath Jayasuriya last month to replace head coach Chris Silverwood, who quit following the country's early exit from the T20 World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jayasuriya, 55, will be the "interim" coach until a full-time appointment is made for the national team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jayasuriya represented Sri Lanka 586 times across the three formats of the game, hitting 42 centuries and taking 440 wickets. He played his last international in 2011.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Former England coach Silverwood, 49, quit for "personal reasons", according to Sri Lanka Cricket.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka won only one match at the T20 World Cup tournament, against the Netherlands, and finished third in their group behind South Africa and Bangladesh.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Silverwood took over in April 2022 and enjoyed immediate success when Sri Lanka won the T20 Asia Cup that year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka then reached the final of the 50-over Asia Cup in 2023.<\/p>\r\n\r\n