Kusal Mendis takes over as Sri Lanka Test captain after Dhananjaya de Silva steps down

Kusal Mendis will lead Sri Lanka in all three formats after Dhananjaya de Silva resigned the Test captaincy and told the selectors the job should pass to a younger generation

Sri Lanka Cricket named Kusal Mendis its Test captain on Thursday, hours after Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down with immediate effect. The appointment was made at a selection committee meeting at the board's headquarters.

Mendis, 31, has captained Sri Lanka's white-ball sides since May and now adds the red-ball job to them. He has never led the country in a Test.

His first assignment is a two-Test series in Pakistan next month, both matches counting towards the World Test Championship.

A letter to the selectors

De Silva gave up the captaincy in a letter to the selection committee rather than at a press conference. "It's my genuine opinion that the mantle should go down to the next generation," he wrote.

The 35-year-old remains available for selection as a batter, and nothing in the board's statement suggested his playing career was under review.

Sri Lanka Cricket chief executive Ashley de Silva said the board "wishes him the very best for the remainder of his career".

The resignation came between assignments, with Sri Lanka's next Test a month away, which left the selectors time to settle the succession rather than name a stand-in.

Eighteen Tests in charge

De Silva took the job in January 2024, succeeding Dimuth Karunaratne, and led Sri Lanka in 18 Tests. He won seven, lost eight and drew three.

With the bat he made 1,130 runs at 36.45 as captain, and took nine wickets at 44.44 with his off-spin.

His first year was his best. Sri Lanka won 2-0 in Bangladesh, took a Test at The Oval in a series England won 2-1, and beat New Zealand 2-0 at home.

The two years since have been harder. Sri Lanka lost both of their Test series this year, 1-0 to West Indies and 1-0 to India, and have won once in the current championship cycle.

Mendis completes the set

Mendis was handed the white-ball captaincy in May 2026 before the West Indies tour, replacing Charith Asalanka in one-day cricket and Dasun Shanaka in T20s.

He has led Sri Lanka in 22 one-day internationals and three T20 internationals, including the 2023 50-over World Cup, and was removed from the one-day job in 2024 before being restored to it this year.

As a Test batter he has played 75 matches for 4,836 runs at 36.36, with 10 hundreds and 23 fifties.

Sri Lanka have now changed Test captain twice inside three years, having turned to de Silva when Karunaratne's tenure ended.

Rawalpindi and Lahore to come

The first Test is scheduled for the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from November 9 to 13, with the second at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from November 17 to 21.

A three-day warm-up against a Patrons XI in Islamabad is pencilled in for November 4 to 6.

The Tests close a tour that opens with limited-overs cricket, so Mendis will have led the side in Pakistan for several weeks before he takes the field as Test captain.

A championship position to repair

Sri Lanka sit seventh in the World Test Championship table with one win from six matches and a points percentage of 33.33.

Six Tests remain in their cycle: two each against Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand.

Pakistan are ninth and last on 4.63, while Australia lead on 80 with South Africa second and New Zealand third.

That gives Mendis a narrow path back into contention, and a first series against one of the two sides below them.

Mendis's first Test as captain begins in Rawalpindi on November 9.

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