The Sri Lanka Cricket selection committee is considering appointing a new Test captain for the coming series against Pakistan, Hiru News reported on Friday, citing unnamed cricket sources.
The report attributes the deliberation to incumbent captain Dhananjaya de Silva’s recent struggles with form, and to the side’s failure to produce expected results in recent Test series.
Kusal Mendis, who captains the side in One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals, and senior batsman Dinesh Chandimal are both said to be under consideration.
What is confirmed
The tour itself is settled. Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed the full schedule: three T20 Internationals in Rawalpindi in October, an ODI tri-nation series also involving England, and two Tests — the first in Rawalpindi from 9 to 13 November, the second in Lahore from 17 to 21 November, preceded by a three-day practice match against a Patrons XI in Islamabad from 4 November.
Appointing Mendis would concentrate all three formats under one captain, reversing the split-captaincy model Sri Lanka Cricket has used in recent years. Dhananjaya de Silva has led the Test side since replacing Dimuth Karunaratne in early 2024.
Treat this as a report, not a decision
Nothing here is official. The report carries no named source, no comment from Sri Lanka Cricket, the selection committee or any of the three players, and no indication that the committee has met on the question or when it will. Sri Lanka Cricket has not announced a squad for the Tests.
No other verified newsroom had filed on the captaincy question at the time of writing, and searches of ESPNcricinfo, the Daily Mirror, The Island and Daily FT returned only the confirmed tour schedule and De Silva’s existing captaincy. Until Sri Lanka Cricket names a squad, the incumbent remains the Test captain.
Not reported
The report does not say who on the selection committee favours a change, whether De Silva has been informed or consulted, or what form his loss of form has taken in numbers. It gives no date for a squad announcement, and does not address whether the Test vice-captaincy would also change.
