Sri Lanka veteran batsman Mahela Jayawardene has joined team-mate Kumar Sangakkara in announcing his retirement from the format at the end of the World Twenty20, saying he also wanted to make way for youngsters.
Sangakkara made his announcement on Sunday and Mahela joined his best mate in quilting the international T20 scene the next day, making the even in Bangladesh their last for their country as the young players start to take root.
The nearly 37-year-old Jayawardene told Wisden India: “The rationale behind retirement is pretty much the same as Sanga’s.
“When it is clear that I can’t see myself playing in the next ICC World T20, there wasn’t much point in me occupying a spot. It makes more sense for a youngster to come into the mix and establish himself.”
Jayawardene will retire with a T20 average just over 30, a far sight lower than his Test average of 50, and with a century and eight fifties to his name (as of now). But he had fun with the format, and felt it helped him with his long format batting.
The former skipper said he had enjoyed T20s for their carefree nature: “While I enjoy all formats of the game, and Test cricket is certainly the pinnacle for any player, the journey in Twenty20 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 expressing myself with full freedom.”
Sri Lanka last won a World Cup in 1996, and despite reaching the T20 final twice, they don’t have that title in the bag yet. But Jayawardene is hopeful that he and Sanga will be able to end their format careers with a trophy.
He said: “That was a big day for Sri Lankan cricket and no one at home will ever forget it. Every year we look back on that date with joy. Hopefully we can do something special here in this tournament as well.
“We always come into big tournaments such as this one with a view to showing the world what Sri Lanka is capable of. We take great pride in our performances and it’s no different here in Bangladesh.”
