Kusal Mendis appointed Sri Lanka Test captain as Dhananjaya de Silva quits

Kusal Mendis is Sri Lanka's new Test captain. Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed the appointment on 8 October, a day on which Dhananjaya de Silva gave up the job with immediate effect.

The 35-year-old de Silva told the board's selection committee in a letter that the time had come to pass the leadership to the next generation, and that a new player should now carry the responsibility. He remains available for selection as a batter and bowler. The board's chief executive is learnt to have accepted the decision and wished him well. The selectors then met at the board's headquarters and chose Mendis to take over.

De Silva had succeeded Dimuth Karunaratne, who had retired, in January 2024. In 18 Tests under him, Sri Lanka won seven. He scored 1,130 runs as captain and took nine wickets. Over a career of about 11 years he has played 69 Tests, scoring 4,431 runs with 13 centuries and 20 fifties. In 93 ODIs he has 1,924 runs with 10 fifties, and in 48 T20 internationals he has 890 runs with three fifties. He began his international career in 2015 in T20Is.

Mendis's first assignment will be a two-Test series in Pakistan, part of the World Test Championship. The first Test starts on 9 November and the second on 17 November. Sri Lanka will go into the series under a new captain, and all eyes will be on Mendis.

Mendis made his Test debut in 2015 and followed it with ODI and T20I appearances the next year. He still plays all three formats and will now lead the team in each of them. He has 4,836 runs in 75 Tests, 5,160 runs in 159 ODIs and 2,694 runs in 109 T20 internationals. Recently, in the second game of the three-match ODI series against England, he made a fine 121.

He also brings captaincy experience. In 22 ODIs as leader, Sri Lanka won 10, lost 10 and two ended without a result. In three T20 internationals under him, the team won one and lost two.