- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka’s cricket captain in all three forms of the game on Monday following the team’s disastrous tour of South Africa.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named former captain Mahela Jayawardene — who led the side to the World Cup final in 2007 — as skipper for next month’s triangular one-day series in Australia, also featuring India.
Dilshan, 35, took up the captaincy on a series-to-series basis after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down following Sri Lanka’s defeat in the 2011 World Cup final against India.
Sri Lanka lost both the Test and one-day series in South Africa, though they recovered a measure of pride with victory in the final two limited-overs games, the last on Sunday.
“Dilshan has resigned as captain in all three formats of the game,” SLC said.
Under Dilshan, Sri Lanka lost Test and one-day series against England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa.
“Members of the executive committee take this opportunity to thank Dilshan for his commitment and dedication during his tenure as the national captain,” the board said.
“We also wish him well as he continues to represent Sri Lanka as a national player.”
While Dilshan’s own batting form suffered during his reign, he led the team to a historic Test win in Durban this year — Sri Lanka’s first on South African soil.
There was no immediate comment from Dilshan, who has so far scored 4,662 runs in 77 Tests and 5,896 runs in 224 one-day internationals.
His replacement is part of an ongoing shake-up after the national team’s recent poor run abroad against South Africa and Pakistan.
“We are changing things at the top to try and change things around,” Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told AFP.
The minister last week named a four-member selection panel headed by Asantha de Mel, a former national player, and gave them one year to put the team in order.
Australian coach Geoff Marsh and team manager Anura Tennakoon are also tipped to be replaced, local media reported over the weekend. Marsh was appointed in September 2011 for two years.
Former South Africa coach Graham Ford is due in Colombo on Tuesday to replace Marsh, the state-run Daily News said on Monday.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.