Dilshan quits, Jayawardene is the new Captain for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s cricket selection panel appoints senior player Mahela Jayawardene as teams new Captain after Tilakratne Dilshan quit the post. Dilshan was under pressure from all corners after a series of defeats. Even his own form dipped during this time. Mahela Jayawardene is no new to Captaincy. He Captained the Sri Lankan ODI team from 2004 to 2009 and Test team from 2006 to 2009. Jayawardene first led Sri Lanka to series draw 1-1 on England’s Tour in 2006. This was followed by an emphatic ODI series whitewash 5-0. He won ‘Captain of the Year 2006’ award from International Cricket Council. He also captains Kochi Tuskers team in the Indian Premier League. He is the first Sri Lankan captain to score a triple century in Test cricket. His innings of 374 runs off 572 balls is also the highest by any Sri Lankan cricketer. He also led Sri Lanka to World Cup final in 2007. In the year 2009, he quit from captaincy citing reasons that he wanted to give his successor sufficient time for 2011 World Cup’s preparation. Kumar Sangakkara took over the job and led the team to World Cup final in 2011. Following resignation of Sangakkara, Tilakratne Dilshan was appointed as the new Captain. Tilkaratne Dilshan failed to take the team to the next level as Sri Lanka struggled with continuous losses in both ODI’s and Test’s. Under him, Sri Lanka succumbed to a record low 43 all out in a One Day game against South Africa. Mahela Jayawardene now faces a stiff task ahead of him as Sri Lanka now face India and Australia in a Triseries in Australia. Sri Lanka’s first encounter is against their arch-rivals India on 8th Feb. Meanwhile in another development, Sri Lanka has also recalled Farveez Maharoof and Chanaka Welegedara in their ODI squad.
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