By Saroj Pathirana BBC Sinhala

Sri Lanka have appointed Mahela Jayawardene as vice-captain for the second Test against India in Colombo.

Ex-skipper Jayawardene succeeds Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired on 22 July after reaching 800 Test wickets in Sri Lanka's 10-wicket win over India.

Jayawardene, 33, remains Sri Lanka's most successful captain, winning 62% of the 26 Tests he led the team in.

Ajantha Mendis replaces Muralitharan for the second Test, which starts on 26 July, while Lasith Malinga is rested.

The fast bowler sustained an injury in the first Test, so Dilhara Fernando looks set for a recall.

Sri Lanka's selectors opted for the experience of Jayawardene ahead of batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan and all-rounder Angelo Mathews.

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on Jayawardene's appointment

Jaywardene became Sri Lanka captain in 2006, leading the country for three years before stepping down after last year's tour of Pakistan, which was abandoned when the tourists' bus was attacked in Lahore on 3 March.

He is ninth in the all-time leading Test run scorers in history with 9168 runs from 111 matches.

Jayawardene had been groomed to lead Sri Lanka since the early days of his Test career

"It was proved to be a good decision," select committee chairman Aravinda de Silva told BBC Sinhala.

Sri Lanka squad for the second Test against India in Colombo:
Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavithana, Mahela Jayawardene (vice-captain), Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Thilina Kandamby, Prasanna Jayawardene (wk), Ajantha Mendis, Chanaka Welagedara, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Hearth, Dhammika Prasad, Dilhara Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Nuwan Pradeep.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version