He has not previously held a high-profile coaching position, but has been Sri Lanka men's chief selector as well as cricket consultant for Sri Lanka Cricket - the role he held till the fresh appointment.

On Jayasuriya's appointment, de Silva said, "Sanath with his wealth of international cricketing experience is well positioned to guide the national team, until we find a permanent solution."

Jayasuriya had also been director of cricket of the Dambulla franchise for the 2023 season of the Lanka Premier League, where he had overseen various areas for the franchise, including strategic planning. In 2022, he had been team mentor for Kandy Falcons in a season in which the Falcons had suffered defeat in the playoffs but won seven of eight games through the league stage.

Jayasuriya was one of Sri Lanka's most beloved cricketers of the nineties and aughts, having helped revolutionise white-ball cricket with his aggressive batting at the top of the innings. He remains the fifth-highest ODI run scorer of all time, with 13,430 runs. He also has 323 ODI dismissals, making him the 12th-highest wicket-taker in the format. This is in addition to considerable exploits across 110 Tests and 31 T20I as well.