Kirsten, a former South African international cricketer, previously served as head coach of the India men's national cricket team from 2008 to 2011 and later coached the South Africa men's national cricket team from 2011 to 2013.
During his coaching tenure with India, he guided the team to victory at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2011. Under his leadership, South Africa also reached the number one ranking in all formats of international cricket in 2013.
Kirsten’s most recent role was as a consultant with Cricket Namibia during the recently concluded ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
During his playing career from 1993 to 2004, Kirsten scored 14,087 runs in Tests and One Day Internationals, including 21 Test centuries and 13 ODI centuries. His contract with Sri Lanka Cricket will run for two years until April 14, 2028, with a key focus on preparing the national team for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 to be held in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
