Jayasuriya retires from international cricket

Sanath Jayasuriya’s career spanned for almost 20 years and now is a parliamentarian from the ruling party [AFP]

Sanath Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan cricketer, has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket after the first one-day match against England later this month.

“I called you here to inform (you of) my retirement from all forms of (international) cricket after 20 years of play,” Jayasuriya told reporters in Colombo on Thursday.

“I’ll retire after playing a one-day and a T20 game,” he said.

The 41-year-old all-rounder, who quit test cricket in 2007, made the announcement after Sri Lanka Cricket recalled him for the T20 and one-day squads for the England tour.

However, he said he will continue to play league matches and domestic cricket.

Jayasuriya was included in a 16-man squad in the wake of a doping investigation involving cricketer Upul Tharanga.

He has not played a limited-overs international for Sri Lanka since December 2009, and played his last Twenty20 a year ago.

Sri Lanka will play England in a Twenty20 at Bristol on June 25 then five ODIs, followed by two more ODIs in Edinburgh against Ireland and Scotland.

A phenomenal career

Jayasuriya, who helped Sri Lanka win their only World Cup triumph in 1996, remains the island nation’s highest run scorer in one-day internationals with 13,428 runs from 444 matches.

He said helping his country win the World Cup, in which he was the player of the tournament, was the highlight of his limited-overs career.

He is the second-highest run-scorer in the history of one-day cricket next to India’s Sachin Tendulkar.

The Lankan cricketer has scored 6,973 runs in 110 test matches, and captured 98 wickets.

He played his last test in 2007. He said the highlight was his 213 in the first innings of an only test against England at the Oval in 1998.

He was left out of Sri Lanka’s World Cup team early this year due to poor performance.

Jayasuriya was elected as a member of parliament last year for Sri Lanka’s ruling party.

“I will serve people in my electorate in future and also I will work for the betterment of cricket,” he said.