Colombo, Jun 5 (IANS): Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has appointed former player Hashan Tillakaratne as new head coach of its women's cricket team.

The former batsman's appointment is part of a 'restructuring of coaches at the Sri Lanka Cricket's High Performance Centre', according to a SLC statement on Saturday.

Tillakaratne, a member of the Sri Lankan team that won the 1996 World Cup, had previously held several coaching positions under Sri Lanka Cricket Training Division.

He was also the head coach of Under-19 Youth team and the batting coach of Sri Lanka Emerging team.

The 53-year-old Tillakaratne was also the head coach of Kandy Tuskers team which played in Lanka Premier League last year.

Tillakaratne, who played 83 Tests and scored more than 4,500 runs with a highest of unbeaten 204, was also appointed director of Cricket-Aid by the country's cricket board in 2005.

He oversaw the relief being provided to the 2004 tsunami victims.