Thisara Perera named Sri Lanka captain for Pakistan T20Is

Thisara Perera, the 28-year-old all-rounder, was on Saturday (October 21) named as Sri Lanka's captain for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Pakistan, starting on October 26. This week, Sri Lanka's regular limited-overs captain Upul Tharanga pulled out of the scheduled T20 International in Lahore due to security reasons.

It also meant that the left-handed opener was ineligible to captain the side for the first two games of the series as well. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had earlier noted that one squad would be selected to play all three T20Is.

Earlier, 40 contracted players had also sent a letter to SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala indicating their unwillingness to play in Lahore. Since then a total of 15 cricketers, out of the 40 players, have agreed to partake in the one-off T20I in Pakistan.

Perera will be the ninth cricketer to captain Sri Lanka in the shortest format of the game. He has compiled 761 runs at 23.78 and has bagged 42 scalps so far.