Jayawardene to quit captaincy after Pak tour

Colombo, Feb 11 (PTI) Sri Lanka cricket skipper Mahela Jayawardene Wednesday sprang a surprise by deciding to quit captaincy after the Test series in Pakistan, saying time is ripe for "fresh leadership" to take over.

Jayawardene met the national selectors Wednesday morning
and after discussions it was agreed that he would quit
captaincy after the two-Test series against Pakistan.

The first Test begins on February 21 in Karachi.

Jayawardene though wants to continue as a player of the
team, which suffered a 1-4 mauling in the five-match one-day
series at the hands of India.

"This is something I have been considering for some time
as it has been my long-held belief that my successor should
have at least 18 months in the job to imprint his vision on
the team for the 2011 World Cup.

"After much thought, I have concluded that the right time
has now come for fresh leadership to takeover," Jayawardene
said in a statement.

Jayawardene said it was not an easy decision to quit
captaincy.

"It was not an easy decision to make because being the
Sri Lanka captain has been the source of enormous pride. I am
very grateful to have been granted the honour of leading the
team," Jayawardene said.

The 31-year-old batsman, who led Sri Lanka for the first
time in April 2004, also pledged support to his successor.

"I look forward now to extending my full support to my
successor and hope to play a major part in the team's success
during coming years as a batsman," he said.

Jayawardene was appointed regular captain in February
2006 and during his three-year tenure he led Sri Lanka in 26
Tests winning 15, losing seven with four draws with a win
percentage of 62.50, the highest of any Sri Lankan captain in
history.

Sri Lanka won 54 and lost 35 out of 94 one-dayers under
him with a win ratio of 57 percent. Under him, Sri Lanka
reached the final of the 2007 World Cup before losing to
Australia.

As captain he averaged 64.70 in Tests, scoring 11
centuries and averaged 34.22 as ODI captain.

Overall, he has 7959 Test runs to his credit in exactly
100 matches at an average of 52.36 while in 200 ODIs he scored
8042 runs at 32.03. PTI TVS
DEP