Rangana Herath set to hang up his boots after first Test against England

And now the veteran spinner has revealed that we will call time on his career post the first Test match against England at Galle, the same venue where he made his debut 19 years ago. Herath will play his 93rd and final Test for the Sri Lankan cricket team on November 6. Already the most successful left-arm spinner in international cricket, Herath (431 wickets) is Sri Lanka’s second leading wicket-taker behind Muralitharan (800).

He will have the opportunity to better that tally against England and move ahead of  Richard Hadlee (431), Stuart Broad (432) and Kapil Dev (434) in the list of highest all-time wicket takers. Since the retirement of Muralitharan, Herath has played in 70 of the 81 Tests that Sri Lanka have played and racked up 359 wickets at an average of 25.98. The left-arm spinner cemented his name as a simplistic bowler known for his accuracy without trying too many different things. His knack of bowling long spells over was another highlight of his career which kept batsman constantly on their toes. Herath’s form post-Muralitharan’s retirement ensured that he emerged on top of the bowling charts in 2012 with 60 Test wickets in the calendar year.