Mahela Jayawardene Congratulates Suranga Lakmal on His Debut as a Skipper

Former Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene recently congratulated his national paceman Suranga Lakmal, who made his debut as the captain during the day-night Test (third) against Windies at Barbadoes.

Meanwhile, Lakmal replaces regular Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who got reprimanded by the world cricket body ICC for his role in ball-tampering.

However, as a result, Lakmal becomes the 16th player to lead a Sri Lankan side in the Test circuit.

Moreover, he had a good debut as Sri Lanka has taken an upper hand early in the game. Windies suffered early jolts after opting to bat first at Barbados.

Lakmal led the team from the front with two wickets with the new ball. He removed both the openers Kraig Braithwaite and Devon Smith as the hosts were reeling at eight for 2.

From the other end, Lahiru Kumara also bowled well to remove Kieran Powell to further push the host team on the backfoot. Windies lost two more wickets courtesy Kasun Rajitha and looked in serious trouble.

Interestingly, Lakmal rotated his bowlers well and was very accurate with his field placing.

However, Windies fought back as they were at 132 for five before rain stopped the day’s play. Shane Dowrich (60*) and Jason Holder (33*) are at the crease when the rain came in.

Mahela Jayawardene congratulates Lakmal:

Meanwhile, prior to the game, the Lankan legend congratulate the newly-appointed skipper. He also wished him all the luck and admitted that he has come a long way.

Lakmal, a 46-Test veteran, will look to put a spirited performance and level the series at the end of this game.

“Congratulations to Surnaga Lakmal who will lead @OfficialSLC for the first time and all the very best. He has achieved a lot from humble beginings,” the tweet read.

Congratulations to Surnaga Lakmal who will lead @OfficialSLC for the first time and all the very best. He has achieved a lot from humble beginings. ?

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) June 24, 2018

Also read: Five most embarrassing defeats for India in ODIs