Sri Lanka appoint Chandimal as Test captain, Tharanga to lead in limited overs

New Delhi: Sri Lankan Cricket Board appointed Dinesh Chandimal as the captain of the Test side and gave the charge of the ODI and T20I teams to Upul Tharanga after Aneglo Mathews decided to step down following the debacle against Zimbabwe.

27-year-old Chandimal had served as vice-captain and led the T20 team in the past, while Tharanga led the ODI team in Zimbabwe in the absence of Mathews.

Delighted over his promotion, Chandimal said, "Firstly, I would like to thank 'Anji' (Mathews). It's not an easy job as a captain in any team so Anji, you have done a great job the last four, five years."

"I am really honoured to captain the Test side. Thanks to the SLC and the selectors who are trusting me as Test captain. We have lots of up and downs the last two years but they have really good players, good youngsters and senior players too. I'm going to put my heart and soul in for the future to get us in the right position," cricket.com.cu quoted Chandimal, as saying.

Chandimal was dropped for the five-match series against Zimbabwe after a below-par Champions Trophy campaign. He was Sri Lanka's leading run-scorer in ODI cricket last year.

On Monday, Mathews admitted that the unexpected home series loss to Zimbabwe was "one of the lowest points" of his career, said that he would discuss his captaincy future with the SLC selectors.

"It's one of the lowest points in my career, and a hard one to swallow," Mathews had said.

The all-rounder, who took the reins at the age of 25 in 2013, led Sri Lanka in 34 Tests, 98 ODIs and 12 T20Is.

The highlight of Mathews' captaincy was the national side whitewashing Australia 3-0 in a Test series last year.

Under Mathews, Sri Lanka have won an away Test series against England, and a home Test series against Australia. However, their performance in limited-overs cricket has been dismal since the 2015 World Cup.

The Lankan Tigers defeated Ireland and West Indies under Mathews, but lost home series against Pakistan, Australia and now Zimbabwe.