Nawaz had recently been Bangladesh’s Under-19 coach, and had overseen that side’s victory in the 2020 Under-19 World Cup. The term of his appointment is two years.
Nawaz had even been considered for the head coach role as Sri Lanka sought to replace Mickey Arthur, over the past few months, but it is understood that eventually the decision was made to appoint a better-heeled international coach. In Bangladesh, Nawaz had played a role in developing young players such as Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shoriful Islam, and Shamim Hossain, who have all since graduated to the senior men’s side.
As a player, Nawaz played one Test and three ODIs for Sri Lanka, and was a force in first-class cricket in the late 1990s and early 2000s, hitting 6892 runs at an average of 36.27
Vaas’ reappointment, meanwhile, comes only months after the board declined to renew his contract in December last year. He had been Sri Lanka’s bowling coach under Mickey Arthur, but did not do the job on the recent tour of India.