Colombo: Sri Lanka Cricket Thursday appointed Kusal Mendis as the new Test captain after Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down from his position with immediate effect.
The two-match Test series in Pakistan next month will be Mendis’ first stint as captain, who is already leading the country in ODI and T20I formats.
The 31-year-old has represented Sri Lanka in 75 Tests and a total of 343 international appearances across formats.
De Silva, who wanted to “pass the mantle to the next generation”, has played 69 Tests and scored more than 4,400 runs, including 13 centuries.
He, however, will remain available for selection as a player.
De Silva, who took over as Test captain in January 2024, conveyed his decision in a letter to Sri Lanka Cricket’s selection committee.
“It’s my genuine opinion that the mantle should go down to the next generation,” De Silva said in the letter.
Ashley de Silva, the CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, thanked De Silva for his contribution in the longest format.
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes him the very best for the remainder of his career and thanks him for the leadership he provided to our Test team,” said Silva.
De Silva led Sri Lanka in 18 Tests after taking over from Dimuth Karunaratne. The island nation was successful in winning seven of those matches.
As captain, he scored 1130 runs at an average of 36.45 and picked nine wickets as well.
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