New Delhi: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has appointed Kusal Mendis as the new Test captain on Thursday after Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down from his role with immediate effect.
Mendis is already leading the national side in ODI and T20I formats.
De Silva has scored 4,431 runs in 69 matches and wanted to “pass the mantle to the next generation”. He will remain available for selection as a player. His resignation came after Sri Lanka lost two Test series by 1-0, first in the West Indies, then at home against India.
De Silva took over as Test captain in January 2024, and informed Sri Lanka Cricket’s selection committee about his decision in a letter. He led Sri Lanka in 18 Tests after taking over from Dimuth Karunaratne, winning seven, losing eight and drawing three.
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes [De Silva] the very best for the remainder of his career and thanks him for the leadership he provided to our Test team,” SLC CEO Ashley de Silva said in a statement, which also stated that the board “welcomes his continued availability as a player”. As captain, De Silva scored 1130 runs at an average of 36.45 and also took nine wickets.
Mendis to begin captaincy tenure with Sri Lanka series
Sri Lanka will face Pakistan in the two-match Test series, which will also begin Kusal Mendis’ tenure as captain. The series is part of the ongoing WTC cycle. Mendis is already leading the side in the T20I and ODI formats, and will be in action during the three-match T20I series against Pakistan, which starts on October 9.
Mendis has featured in 75 Tests, along with 159 ODI matches and 109 T20Is, leading Sri Lanka in the longest format for the first time. He has captained Sri Lanka in 22 ODI matches, while he started his T20I captaincy stint in June this year during the three-match series against the West Indies.