Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is likely to join the England cricket team as their head coach. Sangakkara will replace Matthew Mot who stepped down after two years in the office. Following Mott’s departure, the Islander is in talks to take on duties. Mott resigned after two disappointments, at the ODI World Cup 2023 and a T20 World Cup 2024. Reports suggest that England’s Director of Cricket, Rob Key was looking for a ‘new direction’ who could guide them.
The former Sri Lankan cricketer who currently coaches Indian Premier League franchise Rajasthan Royals, along with Mike Hussey and Andrew Flintoff were in the race to be Mott’s successor. However, as per the latest reports, Sangakkara is the frontrunner to take on the Three Lions’ reigns. The reports further suggest that Jos Buttler urged the ECB to look for someone who has a great playing experience.
Though neither Sangakkara nor anybody else in the team commented about it, media reports suggest the announcement will come soon. Speaking of England’s poor form, the 2019 World Cup winner had an indifferent start to their campaigns at both the ODI World Cup 2023 and the T20 World Cup 2024. In World Cup’24, they lost to Australia in the earlier stages but reached the semi-finals. However, they further failed to make it past the Indian team, who eventually ended up winning the tournament.
Mott was appointed the head coach of the England Men’s white-ball team in May 2022 and enjoyed immediate success. Under his guidance, England won the T20 World Cup title in Australia. Not only this, but Mott also guided the side to achieve white-ball series victories against Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand and Pakistan. As far as Sangakkara is concerned, he is currently working with RR and if the reports are true, he will leave the side.