COLOMBO: Tillakaratne Dilshan resigned as Sri Lanka's cricket captain in all three forms of the game on Monday following the team's disastrous tour of South Africa, officials said.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) named former captain Mahela Jayawardene -- who led
the side to the World Cup final in 2007 -- as skipper for next month's triangular one-day series in Australia, also featuring India.
Dilshan, 35, took up the captaincy on a series-to-series basis after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down following Sri Lanka's defeat in the 2011 World Cup final against India.
Sri Lanka lost both the Test and one-day series in South Africa, though they recovered a measure of pride with victory in the final two limited-overs games, the last on Sunday.
Under Dilshan, Sri Lanka lost Test and one-day series against England, Australia, Pakistan and South Africa.
While Dilshan's own batting form suffered during his reign, he led the team to a historic Test win in Durban this year -- Sri Lanka's first on South African soil.
There was no immediate comment from Dilshan, who has so far scored 4,662 runs in 77 Tests and 5,896 runs in 224 one-day internationals.
His replacement is part of an ongoing shake-up after the national team's recent poor run abroad against South Africa and Pakistan.
Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage last week named a four-member selection panel headed by Asantha de Mel, a former national player, and gave them one year to put the team in order.
Australian coach Geoff Marsh and team manager Anura Tennakoon are also tipped to be replaced, local media reported over the weekend. Marsh was appointed in September 2011 for two years.
Former South Africa coach Graham Ford is due in the island on Tuesday to replace Marsh, the state-run Daily News said Monday. (AFP)
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