Mahela Jayawardene resigned as Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain

COLOMBO: Mahela Jayawardene resigned as Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain on Sunday, but insisted it had nothing to do with the 36-run defeat to the West Indies in the World T20 final.

“I had told the selectors before the tournament started that I won’t captain in T20 and they needed to groom someone else for the future,” Jayawardene told reporters after the final in Colombo.

Jayawardene, 35, will however continue as a player in the shortest format and will also lead in both Test and one-day cricket.

The accomplished batsman has scored 1,224 runs in 44 Twenty20 internationals at a strike rate of 133.77 per 100 balls.

The first world title for the West Indies since the 50-over World Cup triumph in 1979 also handed Sri Lanka their fourth defeat in a major final since 2007.

Sri Lanka have now lost two successive 50-over World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011 and two World Twenty20 finals in 2009 and 2012.