Dhananjaya de Silva will become the 18th player from his nation to captain in Tests. He is all set to take Dimuth Karunaratne’s position, according to chief selector Upul Tharanga of Sri Lanka.
For thirty Test matches, Karunaratne had been leading the Sri Lankan side. He was able to win twelve, lose twelve, and draw six matches. The two Test series victories Sri Lanka had under his direction in the first two games of his tenure were particularly noteworthy. This is because they made history by being the first Asian team and just the third team in history to win a Test series in South Africa.
During a turbulent time of Sri Lankan cricket during 2019, Karunaratne assumed leadership and restored peace and calmness to the team’s dressing room. Although the national team’s outcomes were inconsistent, Karunaratne’s finest hitting phase did occur when he was captain.
His overall average of 40.93 would be far lower than his average of 49.86 when serving as captain. He also rose to the top in the Test batting charts during this time, demonstrating his consistency as Sri Lanka’s go-to player.
Dhananjaya has been part of 51 Test matches as a player for Sri Lanka. He has also established himself as a fixture for the national team. He has amassed 10 hundreds and thirteen fifties throughout that time. Starting on February 6, Dhananjaya de Silva will debut as skipper during the Test match against Afghanistan.
New captains in each format for Sri Lanka
With Wanindu Hasaranga leading the T20I squad and Kusal Mendis leading the ODI team, Dhananjaya becomes Sri Lanka’s third leadership change in the past two weeks. Mendis would be retained by the selectors till the 2027 ODI World Cup. Despite being second from the bottom at the Indian championship last year, Tharanga gave her supporters confidence in this choice.
Shanaka had not been considered for the leadership, according to Tharanga, because of performance problems during the previous two years. Hasaranga will captain the team when the T20 World Cup takes place in the United States and the West Indies in June.
