Colombo, April 2 (IANS) Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday announced the appointment of Ryan van Niekerk as the new bowling coach and Jordan Gregory as fielding and spin bowling Coach, effective from April 15.

According to an official statement, both coaches will oversee their respective disciplines across all national squads, including the senior men’s team, with a focus on strengthening core skill areas.

Van Niekerk, who previously worked with the Netherlands national cricket team as bowling coach and later as interim head coach from 2023 to 2026, will be responsible for managing fast bowling programmes across Sri Lanka’s national set-up. Before stepping into the interim head coach role, he also served as assistant coach and bowling coach with the Dutch side.

During his tenure, he contributed to the team’s participation in major ICC events, including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and multiple editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. He will begin his two-year term with Sri Lanka starting April 15, 2026.

Gregory, who has previously worked as a fielding consultant with the Netherlands Cricket, will handle fielding and spin bowling development across all formats and age groups. His experience includes involvement in several international tournaments and bilateral series.

He will also commence his two-year stint on April 15, as part of SLC’s broader efforts to build a robust high-performance environment.

Niekerk and Gregory’s primary responsibilities will be guiding the Sri Lanka National Men’s Team in its preparation and campaign for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be held in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.

The appointments come shortly after Sri Lanka named former World Cup-winning coach Gary Kirsten as head coach, underlining a renewed push to strengthen the national team setup after a poor performance in the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2026, where the team could not go beyond the Super 8s round despite being the home side.

After the tournament, their former head coach, Sanath Jayasuriya, who took over the role soon after the T20 World Cup 2024, stepped down from the post.

–IANS

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