"We have appointed Rumesh Ratnayake only for the
Australian tour because there is hardly any time to look for another
coach," Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) interim committee chairman Upali
Dharmadasa said.
The 47-year-old former new-ball bowler, who played 23 Test
and 70 One-Day Internationals from 1982-1993, has been working as a development
officer with the Asian Cricket Council.
"We had to get permission from the Asian Cricket
Council to have Rumesh released for the series," Dharmadasa said.
Sri Lanka have been without a full time coach since Trevor
Bayliss quit after the World Cup in early April and his deputy Stuart Law was
put in temporary charge.
Law was named the new Bangladesh coach last month, leading
to another round of head-hunting ahead of the team's tour of Australia to play
two Twenty20, five one-day internationals and three Test matches.
Ratnayake had declined an assistant coach's job in 2007.
Dharmadasa said SLC would appoint a full-time coach within
the next three months.
"We
will call for fresh applicants for the post by advertising on the ICC and Sri
Lanka Cricket websites and also in the national newspapers."
