Sri Lankan batting stalwart Mahela Jayawardene will retire from Twenty20 Internationals after the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.
International Cricket Council announced the news of Jayawardene’s decision on Twitter. “SL legend @MahelaJay to join @KumarSanga2 in T20I retirement after the #wt20 2014,” a tweet from the ICC said.
The decision came a day after another Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara announced quitting the shortest format in the international circuit after the Twenty20 World Cup.
The 36-year-old Jayawardene has appeared in all four T20 World Cups till now and 2014 event in Bangladesh will be his last one. He was the captain of the Sri Lankan team which lost in the final of the last T20 World Cup at home against the West Indies.
Jayawardene has played 49 T20Is to date, scoring 1335 runs at 31.78, with a strike rate of 134.17. He has one century in the format — a 100 which is also his highest T20 score — which came against Zimbabwe in Guyana during the 2010 World T20. He has scored eight half-centuries in T20 international matches.
Jayawardene made his T20I debut in June 2006 against England at Southampton. He led the Delhi Daredevils side in the IPL last season but found no buyers in the players’ auction this year.
The ICC tweet also had a photo of both Sangakkara and Jayawardene posing together with the writing on the background: ‘Last World T20. Let’s make it count’.
Asked about the retirement of the veteran duo from T20Is, Sri Lankan opener Lahiru Thirimanne said, “They (Sangakkara and Jayawardene) are great cricketers. It will be difficult to match them.”
