Sri Lanka have named all-rounder Thisara Perera as their captain ahead of their three-match ODI series against India. Perera, who takes over the reins from Upul Tharanga, is also expected to lead the visitors in the three T20 internationals scheduled after the ODIs.
Sri Lanka have faced somewhat of a crisis in the past year with whitewashes at the hands of South Africa, Pakistan and India at home.
The Sri Lankans have also seen their captaincy change hands three times already as Thisara Perera takes over after Tharanga, who took over from Angelo Mathews in July.
Notably, Dinesh Chamdimal was anointed as captain of the Test side after Mathews had decided to step down after the dismal showing in the ICC Champions Trophy.
The decision to appoint Tharanga had surprised many in the first place, and the whitewashes under the opening batsman didn’t help his claim to captaincy.
Upul Tharanga and former captain Angelo Mathews (right) have not been successful as Sri Lankan captains. (REUTERS)
The left-handed Tharanga’s form with the bat may have been plentiful, with over 800 runs in 22 ODIs at an average of 47 with two centuries and five half-centuries in 2017, but running into trouble due to slow over rates had also led to his suspension.
It was Tharanga’s decision to sit out of Sri Lanka’s last T20 against Pakistan last month that had given Perera his first taste of captaincy.
As reported by Cricbuzz, Angelo Mathews was in running to resume as captain against India but his prolonging injuries ruled him out. Chandimal, too, was considered but his poor running in the limited over formats sidelined him.
The three one-day games against India are on December 10 in Dharamsala, December 13 in Chandigarh and December 17 in Visakhapatnam.
The T20 internationals are on December 20, December 22 and December 24 in Cuttack, Indore and Mumbai.
HT
