Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has stepped down as head coach of Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians, ending an association with the club that has run for more than a decade.
The franchise announced the departure on Saturday, Hiru News reported. In its own statement, Mumbai Indians said Jayawardene would be “stepping down as Head Coach, bringing to a close a decade-long association.”
Mumbai Indians won three IPL titles under his leadership as head coach. The club said he had played a defining role in shaping its culture and “an approach rooted in discipline, collaboration and a team-first ethos.”
Two separate spells
The franchise’s own account sets out a career there in two distinct stages as head coach — 2017 to 2022, and again 2024 to 2026. In 2022 he moved into the role of Global Head of Performance, overseeing the group’s wider cricket operations, before returning to the head coach position.
That distinction matters when reading coverage of this announcement. Jayawardene has left the Mumbai Indians head coach role twice: once in 2022, when South African Mark Boucher took over, and again now. Reports and archive material about a Jayawardene departure from the post are not necessarily about this week’s news.
What they said
Club owner Nita M. Ambani said: “Mahela has made a significant contribution to Mumbai Indians over the years. His calm leadership, integrity and deep love for the game have meant so much to us.”
Jayawardene said: “Mumbai Indians has been a very special part of my journey for over a decade now. The players, coaching team, the incredible support of the #OneFamily and above all the fans have made this an experience I will always treasure.” He thanked Nita Ambani and Akash Ambani for “their unwavering trust, support and friendship over the years,” adding that he leaves “with immense pride in what we have achieved together.”
Jayawardene remains one of Sri Lanka’s most decorated cricketers, having captained the national side and gone on to one of the more successful coaching careers in franchise cricket.
Not reported
Neither the franchise statement nor Hiru’s filing names a successor, gives a reason for the departure beyond the parties’ own framing, or says whether Jayawardene will take another role within the Mumbai Indians group as he did in 2022. Neither mentions any involvement with Sri Lanka Cricket.
Hiru News attributed the announcement to reports rather than to its own confirmation. Ada Derana also filed on the departure, but its site has been unreachable from this desk for several weeks and the filing could not be verified, so it is not cited here.
