Dhananjaya de Silva replaces Dimuth Karunaratne as Sri Lanka's Test captain
All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva will replace Dimuth Karunaratne as the Sri Lankan captain in Tests, chief selector Upul Tharanga confirmed on Wednesday. De Silva will become the 18th captain to lead the Lankans in the red-ball format.
Karunaratne captained the side in 30 Tests, winning and losing 12 each with six draws. Sri Lanka's glittering moment under him was the 2-0 Test series win in South Africa in 2019. They became the first Asian side to triumph in a Test series at the Rainbow Nation. The 35-year-old was also Sri Lanka's best batter during his captaincy stint, averaging 49.86 with eight centuries.
With the appointment of De Silva, Sri Lanka will now have separate captains in each of the three formats.
Speaking to reporters, Tharanga admitted wanting the same captain leading all three sides.
"I would have preferred to have the same captain for all three formats. But we are unable to do that at the moment with the players we have," Tharanga said.
Dhananjaya de Silva has been arguably their best Test batter over the past 12 months, with a batting average of over 60 in six games. While his bowling exploits have reduced considerably, the 32-year-old is a seasoned campaigner with 51 Tests for Sri Lanka.
His first assignment will be the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting on February 6.
Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga named Sri Lankan ODI and T20I captains
Earlier in the week, Sri Lanka also announced their white-ball captains, with Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga set to take over leadership roles in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.
The Lankans will play three ODIs, followed by as many T20Is against Zimbabwe in Colombo, starting from January 6.
Coming off a dismal 2023 World Cup campaign, the new selection committee rang the changes in captaincy and the ODI squad. Several changes were made to the side that finished second from bottom in the recent World Cup, including the axe falling on Dhananjaya de Silva.
Kusal Perera, Dimuth Karunaratne, Matheesha Pathirana, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Chamika Karunaratne, and Angelo Matthews were among the prominent names left out of the ODI squad set to face Zimbabwe. The Lions also recalled Avishka Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, and Akila Dananjaya to the ODI setup.
Sri Lanka ODI Squad for Zimbabwe series
Kusal Mendis (c), Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sahan Arachchige, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Janith Liyanage, Maheesh Theekshana, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, and Wanindu Hasaranga (subject to fitness).