Reports: Upul Tharanga to be sacked as Sri Lanka ODI skipper

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will announce their new captain for the shorter formats before the One-Day International (ODI0 series against India. Reports suggest that Upul Tharanga who was overlooked for the Test series by the selectors is set to be replaced by Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera or Asela Gunaratne.

Tharanga also expressed his wish to relinquish captaincy of the national ODI side. He was handed over the responsibility from former skipper Angelo Mathews, who stepped down after the home series debacle against lower ranked Zimbabwe as Test captain Dinesh Chandimal hasn’t quite had a rich run in limited-overs cricket.

Though he has always been a good batter, his leadership skills in white ball cricket have been criticized. He captained Sri Lanka for 22 ODIs and managed only four wins. Under his captaincy, Sri Lanka were whitewashed by India and Pakistan in 2017.

CricketAge quoted an anonymous source as saying that all-rounders Thisara Perera and Asela Gunaratne have emerged the front-runners to take over as the next captain for the shorter formats. Between the two, Perera, particularly, impressed one and all with his leadership skills during the recently held T20I series against Pakistan. As an all-rounder he has produced commendable performances. In the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (IPL), he has been a revelation for his team Rangpur Riders.

Asela, meanwhile, has been Sri Lanka’s biggest match-winner last one and half year in all three formats of the game. However, he is yet to recover from his thumb injury which he sustained during the last Test against India in August and only recently returned to mainstream cricket.

Sri Lanka to play three ODIs and three T20Is against India starting December 10. Since Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s retirement Sri Lanka has not only struggled to find a settled team combination but have also been looking for a captain at regular intervals.