Kusal Mendis for Sri Lanka in Tests (Source: AFP Photos)Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Kusal Mendis as their new Test captain. The decision came hours after Dhananjaya de Silva stepped down from the same position.Mendis’ first assignment as Test captain will be a two-match Test series in Pakistan, scheduled to happen between November 9 and November 21. Rawalpindi and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will host the fixtures.Sri Lanka, however, is yet to announce their squad for Pakistan Tests. They have T20Is coming up against the Men in Green, and then, they a tri-nation ODI series which include England and Pakistan.Of course, Mendis will be in charge for Sri Lanka in all series.Kusal Mendis Becomes Sri Lanka's All-Format CaptainEarlier, Mendis was Sri Lanka’s white-ball captain for both T20Is and ODIs. Important to mention that he was Sri Lanka’s captain in World Cup 2023 in India.In 2024, he was replaced by Charith Asalanka as ODI captain. Back then, Dasun Shanaka was their T20I captain. However, in May this year, he replaced both Shanaka and Asalanka for white-ball captaincy responsibilities.Now, with SLC rewarding the 31-year-old with the Test leadership duties, it makes him Sri Lanka’s all-format captain.ALSO READSri Lanka T20I Squad For Pakistan Series Announced; Pathum Nissanka Out"Kusal Mendis Appointed Test Captain Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of Kusal Mendis as the new Test captain of the national men’s team. The decision was taken by the Selection Committee at a meeting held today at SLC headquarters," SLC chief executive Ashley de Silva said in a statement.Kusal Mendis' Numbers For Sri LankaKusal Mendis is primarily Sri Lanka’s white-ball specialist. He has 2694 T20I runs in 109 innings. Overall, only Pathum Nissanka has more runs than him in this format for Sri Lanka.In ODIs, Mendis has seven centuries and 36 half-centuries, with 5160 runs across 159 matches. Coming to Tests, he has aggregated 4836 runs in 75 matches, with 10 hundreds and 23 fifties.Notably, Mendis also held one of the unwanted records in Tests. During 2020-21, he fell for ducks in four consecutive innings, against South Africa and England.ALSO READSri Lanka ODI Squad For Tri-Series In Pakistan Announced; Kusal Mendis To Lead
