Sri Lanka's Upul Tharanga announces retirement from international cricket
What's the story
Sri Lanka batsman Upul Tharanga announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday. The 36-year-old informed about his retirement through a long statement on Twitter. A left-handed batsman, Tharanga, last played for Sri Lanka in an ODI on their 2019 tour to South Africa. He also served as captain for a brief period. Here is more on the same.
Quote
All good things must come to an end: Tharanga
"As the good old saying goes 'All good things must come to an end', I believe it is time for me to bid farewell to my international cricket career after over 15 years of giving the game my all," Tharanga wrote in his statement.
Twitter Post
Here is the full statement
I have decided to retire from international cricket 🏏 pic.twitter.com/xTocDusW8A
— Upul Tharanga (@upultharanga44) February 23, 2021
Career
A look at his international career
Tharanga made his international debut in an ODI against WI in 2005. Soon after, he burst on to the Test format, having played his debut game against India. However, Tharanga ended up with 31 Tests, scoring 1,754 runs with three tons. He will be remembered for his 6,951 ODI runs from 235 matches at 33.74. Tharanga also registered 407 T20I runs in 26 matches.
ODI
Tharanga was among runs in the ODI format
An occasional wicket-keeper, Tharanga, remained the most successful ODI batsman from Sri Lanka since his debut. He finished with fifth-most ODI tons (15) by a Sri Lankan batsman after Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, and Mahela Jayawardene. His career-best score of 174* (vs India, 2013) is still the second-highest by a Sri Lankan in the format to date.
Captaincy
Tharanga also captained Sri Lanka for a while
Tharanga served as white-ball stand-in captain momentarily due to injuries to regular skipper Angelo Mathews. The former was handed over the reins full-time when Mathews stepped aside as Sri Lanka's all-format skipper in July 2017. However, he failed to deliver the goods as Sri Lanka suffered three 5-0 whitewashes under him. He was eventually sacked from the role in November 2017.