ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Sri Lanka end ties with Tom Moody weeks ahead of marquee competition

Tom Moody, the former Australian World Cup winner, is set to part ways with Sri Lanka after serving as the team director from February 2021.

The decision comes weeks before the T20 World Cup, which is slated to be played in Australia between October 16 and November 13. It has been learnt that the three-year contract has been terminated by “mutual agreement”.

The secretary of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Mohan de Silva, confirmed the development to AFP. Moody, who earlier served as the head coach of the Sri Lankan team, is expected to leave by the end of this month or just before the start of the showpiece event in Australia.

"We could not afford his fees in the long run. We also feel we need a person who is more hands-on, who can spend more time in Sri Lanka,” a source close to SLC was quoted as saying by AFP on the condition of anonymity.

The source further added that the former Australian all-rounder used to be paid $1,850 per day plus expenses for the 100 days per year he was expected to spend in the island nation.

Under his tutelage, Sri Lanka went on to win the recently concluded Asia Cup – a tournament in which they were the overwhelming underdogs.

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Tom Moody's set to join ILT20 side Desert Vipers

There has been no response from the 56-year-old yet, but he confirmed last month that he would be taking up the director’s role for the Desert Vipers in the newly formed UAE-based International League T20.

Moody started a performance-based pay structure after taking up the director’s post for Sri Lanka. The policy was refuted by the players but they had to eventually agree after they were threatened with being dropped unless they abided by the structure.

Moody donned Australian colors in eight Tests and 76 ODIs, scoring 456 and 1,211 runs, respectively. He also bagged 54 international wickets in a career spanning 1989 to 1999.