By BV Swagath
Mahela Jayawardene has announced that he has resigned as the Captain of the Sri Lanka T20 Captain following the team’s shock defeat against West Indies in yesterday’s World T20 Final.
The 35-year-old Jayawardene has confirmed that he will continue to lead Sri Lanka in ODIs and Tests till the Australia tour in January 2013 and will reassess things after that. The obvious choice for Sri Lanka’s new Captain in the T20 format is going to be all-rounder Angelo Mathews.
Jayawardene’s announcement to quit from the T20 captaincy came during the post match press conference. The decision though was not influenced because of Sri Lanka’s defeat in the Final, but something that was well thought of much before the tournament got underway.
During the press conference, Jayawardene said casually "Just one more thing, guys. I have decided to step down as the T20 captain. I had spoken to the selectors before the start of the tournament, and they are fine with the decision. On whether the decision was because of the defeat, Mahela denied that saying "I would have quit captaincy even if we had won."
