He is playing his first tournament since suffering serious injuries in a car accident in December 2022 that kept him out of last year's IPL as well as the 50-overs World Cup in India
Atapattu takes over as Sri Lanka head coach
Former captain Marvan Atapattu became Sri Lanka's first full-time local coach in 15 years after he was put in charge of the national cricket team on Wednesday.
Published : 24 Sept 2014, 05:25 PM
Updated : 24 Sept 2014, 05:26 PM
The executive committee of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has "unanimously approved and appointed" Atapattu with immediate effect, the SLC said in a statement without revealing terms and tenure of the appointment some five months before next year's 50-over World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Following the resignation of Englishman Paul Farbrace in April, 43-year-old Atapattu was named the interim coach of the team which went on to win a test series in England and a test and one-day series at home against Pakistan.
Atapattu, who played 90 tests and 268 one-dayers from 1990-2007, joined the Sri Lankan support staff in 2011 as a batting coach and was made Graham Ford's deputy in 2013.
Roy Dias was the last Sri Lankan to coach the team full-time in 1999 before SLC began its experiments with foreigners.
Sri Lanka will host England for seven one-day internationals beginning on Nov. 26.
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