Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene will be the consultant coach of the men’s national teams starting next year, the country’s cricket Board announced on Monday.

The decision was taken by the executive committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), in consultation with the technical advisory committee. The contract is for a period of one year.

In his new role, Jayawardene, who has been coaching the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, will be in charge of the overall cricketing matters of the national teams and will provide strategic support to the players and management teams at the High-Performance Centre.

“We are extremely happy that Mahela is joining the national team for an extended role, especially given the context that Sri Lanka has a heavy international calendar during the year 2022,” said Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva.

“Mahela’s contributions during the first round of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup became invaluable for the overall performance of our team in the concluded event,” De Silva added.

Jayawardene said: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with the national cricketers and coaches in our various development squads, including the U-19 and ‘A’ teams, to help us do justice to the enormous cricketing talent and potential in Sri Lanka.”

“I am very passionate about Sri Lankan cricket and believe that with a coordinated and focused team effort, we can achieve consistent success in the future.”

Prior to his current contract, Jayawardene was also looking after the Lankan U-19 team as a mentor and consultant as they prepare for next year’s U-19 World Cup.