T20 World Cup 2021: Mahela Jayawardene to leave the Sri Lankan side before the Super 12 stage

Mahela Jayawardene has decided to leave the Sri Lankan squad before the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. He had joined the side as a consultant before the event.

Sri Lanka qualified for the Super 12 stage after winning the first two matches in the first round. The role Jayawardene played during this phase was lauded by the skipper and the support group.

Speaking to the media from the UAE, the Sri Lankan legend revealed that continuous spells of bio-bubbles and quarantines have unfortunately taken their toll on him and he wants to get back home.

“It’s tough. I just counted that I have been 135 days in quarantine and bubbles since June and I am in (the) last legs. But I totally understand and I told them I will be with the group with the technology that we have. I hope that anyone can understand that being a father that I haven’t seen my daughter for that many days. I definitely need to get back home,” Jayawardene stated.

The former Sri Lankan skipper was the head coach of the Southern Braves side that won The Hundred. He moved to the UAE after the tournament and coached Mumbai Indians during the second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

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Mahela Jayawardene wants to set a template for Sri Lanka to play in Sharjah before leaving

Sri Lanka have qualified for the Super 12 stage

Sri Lanka are set to face the Netherlands in the final game of the first round at Sharjah on Friday (October 22). Although they have already qualified, Mahela Jayawardene felt that it would be a good opportunity to set up a template for the Super 12 stage.

“We’ll change the template and the way we want to play in Sharjah. In the Super 12 group, we have three games in Sharjah, one in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi so our template and strategy will change according to the surface and how we want to go about.”

The 44-year-old added that he will put a structure in place for Sri Lanka based on what he saw in Sharjah during the recently concluded IPL.

“Before I leave, I’ll put all structures in place and give them a better idea because I was involved in a few games in Sharjah two weeks back in the IPL and we saw how in the playoffs the surfaces were playing.”

Ireland and Namibia will face off in the other match today, with the winner qualifying alongside Sri Lanka from Group A for the Super 12 stage.