Tillakaratne Dilshan will take over from Kumar Sangakkara as the captain of Sri Lanka for next month's tour of England. Sangakkara decided to step down after the team lost to India in the World Cup final.
"We are proud to announce the appointment of Dilshan as the national captain in all three formats of the game for the tour of England," Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement. "The national selectors have postponed the appointment of a vice-captain since the prospective candidates are nursing injuries and their availability for the forthcoming tour is still in question."
The 34-year-old Dilshan, who is an opening batsman, was the leading run-scorer in the World Cup with 500 at an average of 62.50. He has led Sri Lanka once before, on a tour of Zimbabwe in June last year, when his team won a one-day tri-series which also featured India, but this is the first time Dilshan has been picked to lead his country in a Test series.
The chairman of selectors, Duleep Mendis, said the tour squad would be selected after Dilshan returns from the Indian Premier League where he is representing Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sri Lanka have told all their IPL players to return home by 5 May to prepare for the tour.
The squad are due to leave for England on 10 May for a series of three Tests, five one-day internationals and one Twenty20 international. The first Test in Cardiff starts on 26 May.
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