Former Sri Lanka wicketkeeper batsman Kaushal Silva has been appointed as the new head coach of Hong Kong’s cricket team, the sport’s governing body in the city said on Monday.
The 39-year-old, who played 39 Tests and scored three hundreds between 2011 and 2018, is expected to start his new job sometime next month, once his visa has come through.
After a short coaching stint in England, Silva has been working in Australia since 2019, most recently at the Superkings Cricket Academy, but will now make the step up to associate cricket as Simon Willis’ replacement.
Silva said he was excited at the prospect of coaching the team and “looked forward to working with the talented group of players”.
His first significant challenge, other than improving an underperforming side, will be the Asia Cup, which will return to its T20 format and be held in the United Arab Emirates from September 9th to September 28th.
While India and Pakistan have been thrown together alongside the hosts and Oman in Group A, Hong Kong face Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Group B. The top two sides in each group will progress to the semi-finals.
“Hong Kong Cricket has a lot of potential, and I am eager to contribute to the team’s growth and success on the international stage,” Silva said. “My focus will be on instilling a strong work ethic and a winning mentality amongst the senior squad and working to identify and nurture fresh talent for continued growth.”
He has plenty of work to do. The team struggled in the latter stages of Willis’ reign and had already been well beaten twice by Malaysia this month at the Asia Pacific Cricket Champions Trophy in Singapore, before getting utterly hammered in Saturday’s final.
In a game reduced to five overs at the National Cricket Ground, Malaysia needed just 14 balls to get the 55 runs required for victory.
Burji Shroff, chairman of Cricket Hong Kong, China, said his organisation was “delighted” to welcome Silva to the role, given his “wealth of experience and profound understanding of the intricacies of the game”.
“His expertise will be instrumental as we strive to enhance our recent performances and work towards achieving our long-term objectives,” Shroff said. “We believe that under his guidance ,we can not only elevate our competitive standing, but also promote the sport within our community.” (SCMP)
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