Sri Lanka Cricket announced yesterday (26) the appointment of veteran coach Hemantha Devapriya as head coach of the Sri Lanka women’s national cricket team. He is a former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Sri Lanka. 

He replaces another former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper/batsman Lanka de Silva who held the post since last July.

Devapriya holds level III qualifications from the ECB, and is a Level II Certified Coach in Sri Lanka, who’s coaching career spans over 15 years.

During the time he has been the Head Coach of the Colombo Cricket Club, the NCC, the Fingara Cricket Academy and most recently Bloomfield C & AC.

The wicket-keeper batsman made his debut against Australia in 1980 with an explosive 80 in Galle and went on to score several top-notch half centuries against England during the 1981 tour. Devapriya has scored 1761 first-class runs in a short career of 70 matches. 

Also steering the women’s team as they head into the ICC Women’s Championship Qualifiers in early November is former national spin coach, Oshadi Weerasinghe, who takes on the role of assistant coach.