Upul Tharanga rules himself out of the Test squad for the next 6 months

The Sri Lankan Cricket Team has been a victim of ever-changing captaincy and incessant player injuries for the last few months. After the team faced a total whitewash in both the Test as well as the ODI series at the hands of India, their limited-overs captain, Upul Tharanga has taken a 6-month long break from Test cricket. This period of absence will include the 2-Test match series against Pakistan, which is to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this year.

Having faced a 3-0 drubbing in the Test series, Sri Lanka would have hoped for better performances in the ODI series. But that was not to be. Dropped catches, crumbling batting order and constant injuries saw the Lankans fare miserably and they eventually lost the series by a 5-0 margin.

Tharanga to concentrate on white-ball cricket

As captain, Tharanga had a tour equivalent to a nightmare. Not only did his team fail to make the cut, but he was also suspended for two matches within the series for slow over-rate. The team suffered even more as the role of captaincy changed hands 5 times in the Test and ODI series. The upcoming Pakistan series will see Dinesh Chandimal leading the Lankan side, after having recovered from a hairline fracture on his right thumb.

A press release issued by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Monday (September 4), stated that the 32-year-old has opted out of Test cricket for the coming 6 months in order to focus on his white-ball cricketing skills. As an inevitable outcome, Tharanga is not a part of the 25-member provisional squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Pakistan.

The series will be played from September 28 to October 10 and will include a day-night game. However, Tharanga clarified that he sees no need to relinquish captaincy.