All-rounder Angelo Mathews was appointed captain of the Sri Lankan test and one-day international teams on Thursday for a period of 11 months beginning with next month’s home series against Bangladesh.
Mathews succeeds Mahela Jayawardene, who accepted captaincy in January 2012 for a period of one year so that Sri Lanka could groom their next skipper.
Middle-order batsman Dinesh Chandimal will lead Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 team while serving as Mathews’ deputy in tests and one-dayers, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.
The selectors named six new faces in a 20-member squad for the two-test series against Bangladesh starting on Mar 8 at Galle. The new selection committee, headed by former captain Sanath Jayasuriya, made sweeping changes to accommodate batsmen Ashen Silva and Kithruwan Vithanage, seamer Dushmantha Chameera, off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal, wicket-keeper Kushal Perera and leg-spinning all-rounder Jeevan Mendis. Perera and Mendis have played one-day cricket for Sri Lanka. Their inclusion came at the expense of Thilan Samaraweera, Tharanga Paranavitana, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suranga Lakmal and Dhammika Prasad, all of whom toured Australia last month.
Former captain Kumar Sangakkara was retained in the squad, subject to his recovery from a hand injury which he sustained in Australia.
Bangladesh will also play three one-day internationals and a one-off Twenty20 international in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka test squad: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal (vice captain), 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.
