England in talks with Jayawardene about batting job

Mahela Jayawardene is set to be appointed as a batting consultant by England for their series away to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates later this year after officials confirmed Tuesday they were in talks with the Sri Lanka great.

Confirming the talks, an European Central Bank spokesman stated: “We have had some preliminary conversations with Mahela Jayawardene round a attainable short-term consultancy role firstly of the UAE tour – given his familiarity with circumstances”. Apart from the multi-team T20 event and the trip to UAE, England are touring India and Bangladesh over the next 18 months, and Jayawardene being part of the coaching team would help the players adjust better to the Asian conditions.

In a bid to improve their fortunes, the European Central Bank have begun negotiations with the Sri Lanka star.

He is not full time member of England Board Staff but is likely to be contracted for some time.

Jayawardene’s appointment does not necessarily mean the end of Mark Ramprakash’s role with the England team.

“Nothing has been agreed at this stage”.

Jayawardene scored 25,957 runs in all formats for Sri Lanka before retiring after the World Cup earlier this year.