Previous Sri Lanka captain the great Mahela Jayawardene announced retirement Monday that he will be retiring from the twenty20 game after the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. The news comes a day after compatriot and batsman Kumar Sangakkara said that he will hang up his boots from T20 Internationals after the centerpiece event.
The 36-year-old Jayawardene said that the reason behind the decision is the same as Sangakkara.
The rationale behind retirement is pretty much the same as Sangakkara. When it is clear that I cannot see myself playing in the upcoming ICC World T20, there wasn't much point in me occupy a spot. It makes more sense for a youngster to come into the mix and establish himself," Jayawardene told Wisden India.
Jayawardene has played 49 T20Is
Scorer in the format with 1335 runs
At an average of 31.78
Strike rate of 134.17.
While I enjoy all 20 overs formats of the game, and Test cricket is certainly the pinnacle for any player, the journey in T20 cricket has been fascinating. In many ways it helped me get back to my roots, to bat like I used to when I was a schoolboy, for the sheer love of playing attacking shots and express myself with full freedom, Jayawardene added. His decision comes exactly 18 years after Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup.
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