Mendis picked as Test captain after Sri Lanka’s de Silva steps down

Kusal Mendis will take over as Sri Lanka test captain after all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down, the country’s cricket board said on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Mendis, already the one-day and T20 skipper, has played 75 tests for Sri Lanka, scoring 4,836 runs at an average of 36.36, including 10 centuries and 23 fifties.

The two-test series in Pakistan starting in Rawalpindi on November 9 will be Mendis’ first assignment as test captain.

De Silva, 35, who will remain available for selection, succeeded Dimuth Karunaratne as test captain in January 2024 and led Sri Lanka in 18 tests, winning seven.

“It’s my genuine opinion that the mantle should go down to the next generation,” de Silva said in a letter to the selection committee.

His resignation comes after a difficult year for Sri Lanka, who are seventh in the World Test Championship standings after losing a test series in the West Indies and suffering a home series defeat by India.

De Silva has played for Sri Lanka in 69 tests and remains one of the side’s most experienced players.