Sri Lanka Embarks on 2024 with New Captains Across Formats

In an intriguing development, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced a change in leadership for each format as they head into the year 2024. Dhananjaya de Silva has been appointed as the new skipper of the Test side, following the recent appointments of Kusal Mendis and Wanindu Hasaranga as leaders of the ODI and T20I sides, respectively.

The appointment of Dhananjaya de Silva, a seasoned player at 32 years of age, marks him as the 18th different player to captain Sri Lanka in men's Tests. He will lead the side in the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan. De Silva takes over the reins from Dimuth Karunaratne, who captained the team in 30 Tests between 2019 and 2023, amassing a record of 12 wins, 12 losses, and 6 draws.

Dimuth Karunaratne's tenure as captain commenced with a historic and improbable series victory in South Africa. While subsequent results were less sensational, his captaincy provided a sense of stability during a period of transition in Sri Lanka cricket. Notably, Karunaratne's leadership seemed to bring out the best in him as a batter, as he averaged nearly 50 with the bat, surpassing his career average of 40.93.

The new Test captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, has been a consistent member of the squad and possesses a wealth of experience. In his 51 Test matches thus far, he has scored 3301 runs at an average just under 40.

Chief selector Upul Tharanga expressed his preference for having a single captain across all three formats, stating, "I would have preferred to have the same captain for all three formats, but we are unable to do that at the moment with the players we have."

As Sri Lanka embraces this fresh approach to captaincy, fans and pundits alike eagerly await the impact these new leaders will have on their respective teams. With a blend of experience and youthful talent, Sri Lankan cricket enters 2024 with a renewed sense of optimism and a quest to achieve success in all formats of the game.