Ian Bell, the former England batter, has been appointed Sri Lanka's batting coach for their upcoming tour of England. Sri Lanka are set to play three Tests starting August 21, and Bell will begin his role on August 16, which will last till the end of the series.
"We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there. Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour," SLC CEO Ashley De Silva said.
Since his retirement in 2020, Bell has worked extensively as a coach. He has previously worked as the batting coach of the England men's U-19 and England Lions teams, assistant coach at Hobart Hurricanes, consultant batting coach at Derbyshire and assistant coach of the New Zealand men's side before the 2023 ODI World Cup. Most recently, he worked as an assistant coach at Melbourne Renegades in the BBL and has been assistant coach of the Birmingham Phoenix side in the Men's Hundred.
"He's reminded me a few times that he's going to be in the opposite camp in this series," England batter Jamie Smith, who works with Bell at Phoenix, told Sky Sports ahead of Monday night's game. Sri Lanka will hope Bell's expertise helps them win their first Test series in England since 2014.
Sri Lanka announced their squad for the England Tests last week, with Dhananjaya de Silva set to lead the team. The three Tests will be in Manchester (August 21-25), Lord's (August 29-September 2), and the Oval (September 6-10).