Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Saturday that it has roped in Julian Wood as batting coach and Rene Ferdinands as spin-bowling coach for their men’s national team. Wood and Ferdinands will replace Thilina Kandamby and Piyal Wijetunge in the roles. Kandamby had served as Sri Lanka’s batting coach since December 2023, while Wijetunge has been a fixture in their setup, serving the spin-bowling coach role since February 2006.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the decision stems from Sri Lanka’s defeat in the T20I series against Bangladesh at home in July.

Wood, who conducted a week-long “power-hitting program” with Sri Lanka’s national players and impressed SLC during his brief stint, has been handed a one-year contract. In August, he was appointed as Bangladesh’s batting coach on a short-term contract, but the board opted against extending it after the conclusion of the deal in September.

“He [Wood] brings a wealth of experience, having previously worked with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Gloucestershire CCC, Hampshire CCC, Middlesex CCC, and IPL franchise Punjab Kings, among others,” stated an SLC media release.

Ferdinands has been signed for two years, where he is expected to “lead spin bowling training, match preparation, performance analysis, and player development”.

“Holding a PhD in biomechanics from the University of Waikato, Ferdinands brings extensive expertise in applying science to enhance cricket performance. He previously worked with the National Cricket Academy of India (NCA), delivering biomechanics-based coaching programs for elite players and coaches.

A specialist in both wrist and finger spin, Rene has also served as a biomechanics consultant for New Zealand Cricket, carrying out performance evaluations and injury-risk assessments for leading bowlers,” SLC stated in the release.

Coming to their on-field exploits, Sri Lanka recently competed in the Asia Cup and maintained a flawless run till the group stage. However, in the Super Fours, their fortunes completely turned around, and they lost three consecutive matches, crashing out of the tournament.

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