Mathews takes over as Sri Lanka captain

[dipu]

Angelo Mathews will take over as Test and ODI captain from Mahela Jayawardene for the home Test series against Bangladesh. Dinesh Chandimal will be Mathews' deputy but will lead the national side in the Twenty20 format. Lasith Malinga has been named Sri Lanka's T20 vice-captain. The appointments are for a period of one year.

Jayawardene was expected to step down from captaincy after the tour of Australia, and Mathews was tipped to take over. Chandimal assumes a senior role in the team, having played five Tests and 50 ODIs.

The 20-man squad for the two-Test series starting on March 8 has several fresh faces and some notable absentees from the tour of Australia. Thilan Samaraweera has been dropped, together with opener Tharanga Paranavitana and wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene. Ajantha Mendis returns to the Test squad, having last played a Test in May 2011 against England.

Samaraweera has signed up with Worcestershire for the 2013 county season, but had an inconsistent 2012, a year in which he averaged 32.50. He had a poor tour of Australia, where he failed to score a half-century in six innings. Paranavitana was part of the squad on that tour but didn't play a Test, with Dimuth Karunaratne being preferred over him. Prasanna Jayawardene's Australian tour was cut short by a thumb injury, but he hasn't been picked for the Tests against Bangladesh following his recovery. Chandimal will keep wicket.

The squad features four uncapped players, and six in all who are yet to play a Test: Batsmen Ashen Silva and Kithruwan Vithnage, seamer Dushmantha Chameera, and offspinner Tharindu Kaushal are those yet to play international cricket. Wicketkeeper-batsman Kushal Janith Perera and legspinning allrounder Jeevan Mendis have played ODI cricket for Sri Lanka but not a Test.

Kumar Sangakkara's participation in the Test series is subject to his recovery from a fractured hand, an injury he suffered on the tour of Australia.

Test squad: Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal (vice-capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dimuth Karunaratne, Ashen Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Mahela Jayawardene, Kushal Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Kithruwan Vithnage, Ajantha Mendis, Suraj Randiv, Nuwan Kulasekara, Shaminda Eranga, Chanaka Welegedera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Rangana Herath, Tharindu Kaushal.