Sri Lanka Cricket announced on Sunday, 17th April that Rangana Herath, the 38-year-old left-arm spinner, has decided to retire from limited-overs international cricket in an attempt to concentrate on the longer format of the game.
In a letter addressed to SLC, Herath said grooming youngsters for the 2019 World Cup was a significant factor which prompted him to take this decision. He said-
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Every cricketer has to stop at the right time. I feel it’s time to make room for fresh talent to be groomed with the 2019 World Cup in view.
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Herath has played 71 One-Day Internationals, picking up 74 wickets at an economy of 4.37. His best of 4 for 20 came against India at Port of Spain in 2013. In T20 Internationals he has 18 wickets in 17 matches at an economy of 6.13, with his best figures of 5 for 3 coming against New Zealand during the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.
Earlier, Herath had confirmed that he would think about his future after the 2016 World T20 in India. “I do have a few desires left, but I am not getting any younger,” he had said. "I want to play some Test cricket, so I might stop playing ODIs and T20s after that.”
SLC said, in a statement that it wishes Rangana Herath nothing but the best in all his future endeavours.
Herath, is a veteran of 67 Tests in which he has picked up 297 wickets. His next appearance for Sri Lanka will be in May-June, 2016, when Sri Lanka travel to England for a three-Test series.