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Hemantha Devapriya to coach Sri Lanka women

The former first-class wicketkeeper Hemantha Devapriya will take charge of the team ahead of the ICC Women's Championship Qualifiers in November

The Sri Lanka women's team have a new coach and assistant coach  •  ICC/Getty Images

The Sri Lanka women's team have a new coach and assistant coach  •  ICC/Getty Images

Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former first-class wicketkeeper Hemantha Devapriya as the head coach of the national women's team. Former SLC spin coach, Oshadi Weerasinghe, has been given the role of assistant coach.
A coach for the past 15 years, Devapriya had roles with Colombo Cricket Club, Nondescripts and Fingara Cricket Academy, before most recently being in charge of the Sri Lanka A team. He will start his stint with the ICC Women's Championship Qualifiers, which begins early November.
Devapriya replaced former international wicketkeeper Lanka de Silva, who had held the post since July 2015. Devapriya made his first-class debut against Australia in 1980 before the Sri Lankan team was given Test status. He also toured England in 1981 before his participation in the rebel tour to South Africa ended any chance he had to play for his country. He finished his first-class career with 1761 runs in 70 matches.