Upul Tharanga announces retirement from international cricket
Upul Tharanga has bid farewell to international cricket after representing Sri Lanka in 31 Tests, 235 ODIs, and 26 T20Is.
The 36-year-old informed his fans about his decision to end his international career via a lengthy Facebook post. The former Sri Lankan skipper used the famous saying, "All good things must come to an end," to begin his message. He then thanked Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), his fans, friends, and family members for their respective roles in his 15-year-long career.
"I would like to wish Sri Lanka Cricket all the very best for the future and I am hopeful that the team will bounce back strong soon. Thank you all!" Upul Tharanga concluded.
Tharanga made his international debut for Sri Lanka in an ODI fixture versus the West Indies on August 2, 2005. He played his first Test against Team India at Ahmedabad soon after. Since he was a successful ODI player, the team management included him in the playing XI for their first-ever T20I against England in 2006.
Tharanga scored over 9,000 international runs across all formats for the Sri Lankan cricket team. His last international appearance came in an ODI versus South Africa at Cape Town two years ago. Recently, Upul donned the Dambulla Viiking jersey in Lanka Premier League 2020.
Upul Tharanga won seven matches as the Sri Lankan cricket team skipper
As mentioned earlier, Upul Tharanga achieved much success in white-ball cricket. SLC assigned him the team's reins in ODIs and T20Is for a brief duration. Tharanga led Sri Lanka in 20 ODIs, but the islanders could win only four of them.
Upul Tharanga's captaincy record was much better in T20Is. The Sri Lankan cricket team emerged victorious in three out of the six games under his leadership.