COLOMBO: Sri Lanka on Wednesday ousted Upul Tharanga as ODI captain and brought in Thisara Perera to lead the team for an upcoming ODI and T20 series in India.

The move comes after a series of defeats while Tharanga and senior Sri Lankan players refused to play a T20 International against Pakistan in Lahore.

“We have appointed Thisara the ODI and T20 captain,” a top Sri Lanka Cricket official told AFP ahead of a formal announcement later Wednesday.

Batsman Tharanga, 32, was captain when Sri Lanka lost series to India, South Africa and Pakistan this year without winning a game.

Having led Sri Lanka against Pakistan when they played in the UAE, Tharanga and other senior team members refused to travel to Lahore for the Pakistan leg of the T20 series.

Perera was brought in as Sri Lanka became the first country to play in Pakistan since the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked by armed terrorists in March 2009. Pakistan had since been a security no-go area for international cricket teams.

Sri Lanka’s three ODIs against India are on Dec 10 in Dharamsala, Dec 13 (Chandigarh) and Dec 17 (Visakhapatnam). The T20 Internationals are scheduled for Dec 20, Dec 22 and Dec 24 in Cuttack, Indore and Mumbai, respectively.

Published in Dawn, November 30th, 2017