India vs Sri Lanka | Thisara Perera set to be appointed limited-overs captain

Despite losing the T20 series in the UAE and Lahore, Perera was given credit for his brave approach and fighting spirit while leading a young side against Pakistan who lead the rankings list. Under Tharanga’s captaincy, Sri Lanka suffered three 5-0 whitewashes this year, against South Africa, India, and Pakistan. 

When Angelo Mathews stepped down from the captaincy in July this year, the Sri Lankan board split the captaincy responsibilities and handed ODIs to Tharanga while Dinesh Chandimal took over as the Test captain. 

Sanath Jayasuriya’s decision to hand the responsibility of the team to Perera from Tharanga comes as a surprise as the latter amassed 860 runs in 22 ODIs at an average of 47.77 including two centuries and five half-centuries.

As per the Cricbuzz report, the selectors looked at various options but they finalized Perera’s name, who has played 125 ODIs and 63 T20I for Sri Lanka scoring 1441 and 780 runs respectively. During the T20 series against Pakistan, the 28-year-old tried to unite the team which impressed the island nation’s selectors despite the 3-0 whitewash. 

The first ODI of the series will be played on December 10 at Dharamsala.