Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed the appointments of Julian Wood as the new batting coach and Rene Ferdinands as the new spin-bowling coach for the men’s national team. The duo replaces Thilina Kandamby and Piyal Wijetunge, marking a major shake-up in Sri Lanka’s coaching staff following the team’s T20I series defeat to Bangladesh at home in July.
New Coaches, Fresh Perspective for Sri Lanka
Julian Wood, who impressed during a week-long “power-hitting program” earlier this year with the Sri Lankan squad, has been handed a one-year contract. His previous coaching stints include roles with England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Middlesex, and IPL franchise Punjab Kings.
“𝑯𝒆 [𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅] 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆,” 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝑺𝑳𝑪 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆.
Wood briefly served as Bangladesh’s batting coach earlier in 2025 but was not retained after his short-term deal expired in September. His appointment in Sri Lanka is expected to strengthen the team’s aggressive batting approach, especially in limited-overs formats.
Ferdinands Brings Scientific Approach to Spin Department
Rene Ferdinands has signed a two-year deal and will oversee spin bowling development, training, and performance analysis. A biomechanics expert with a PhD from the University of Waikato, Ferdinands has previously worked with the National Cricket Academy (India) and New Zealand Cricket as a biomechanics consultant.
“𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝑷𝒉𝑫 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒔, 𝑭𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆,” 𝑺𝑳𝑪 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.
With Sri Lanka’s batting often struggling to accelerate and their spinners underperforming on flatter tracks, SLC hopes these new appointments will bring a data-driven, modern approach to elevate their performance on the global stage.
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