Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has no immediate plans of becoming a full-time coach and insists he is more suited to short-term consultancy roles.
After ending his illustrious 18-year international career in March 2015, he was appointed batting consultant by England for the first Test against Pakistan in the UAE at the end of last year. His contribution was quickly recognised with captain Alastair Cook praising the positive influence of the 38-year-old with England coach Trevor Bayliss revealing he would be pushing for a permanent role.
While he enjoyed his time with the squad, Jayawardene does not see himself taking on a permanent coaching job.
“I’ve openly said I don’t have the patience to become a good coach but at the same time, I want to work in consultancy roles for short periods of time and give back and contribute to something what I have learnt,” he said.
“To be honest, I’ve completely shut myself down from taking a full-time coaching job and the consultancy is the best way forward because I’ve not done any exams or have coaching qualifications to be a proper coach.”
But he hinted he could be open to taking the reins of a team. He added: “Who knows what is going to happen in two years time, let alone 10 years time. But I’m taking six months at a time. It depends how my body feels and what my commitments are.”
With 652 international caps, Jayawardene has played under numerous coaches for the islanders including Graham Ford. The South African has been reappointed Sri Lanka’s coach, a post he had occupied between 2012 and 2014, replacing Marvan Atapattu, who resigned in September.
Jayawardene is confident the 55-year-old Ford will do well.
“He’s a great coach and works fantastic with the young cricketers,” he said. “We just have to be patient with him. It will be a process and an exciting project for him and we will see results.”
Ford’s first game saw an understrength Sri Lankan side stun India by five wickets in the first game of the three-match T20 series on Tuesday. However, Mahela was coy on the team’s chances at the World Twenty20 in March.
“We have the firepower to bring back the trophy home and it will be a fascinating World Cup. There are a good four to six teams who can win. It’s about who keep their nerves in the big games,” he said.
The Sri Lankan legend will be lining up for Sagittarius Strikers in their Masters Champions League semi-final against unbeaten Gemini Arabians on Thursday night in Dubai. He is wary of the threats posed of the team led by Virender Sehwag.
“They’ve been the best team in the tournament. If you want to win the tournament, I guess you have to beat the best,” he said. “It’s a fresh start. There are no points and it’s just a knock-out and it’s how we perform on the day.”
