List of Sri Lanka national cricket captains

This is a list of all men, boys and women who have captained a Sri Lankan national cricket team at official international level. Sri Lanka became a full member of the International Cricket Council on 21 July 1981. Previously they were an associate member of the ICC from 1965, which made them eligible to compete in the ICC Trophy, the leading one-day tournament for associate members. Just after Sri Lanka gained Test status in 1981 a team of rebel players toured apartheid South Africa under the banner "Arosa Sri Lanka" (the term "Arosa" being derived from the promoter's name). All players who toured Sri Lanka were banned from official cricket matches for life, thereby setting Sri Lanka's development back. Sri Lanka's greatest success in One Day Internationals was when they won the Cricket World Cup in 1996 under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga.

Men's cricket

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Test match captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan cricket team for at least one Test match.[1] The table of results is complete including the first Test against Bangladesh which ended on 4 February 2018. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player captained this side for a minor proportion in a series.

Sri Lankan Test match captains
NumberNameYearOppositionLocationPlayedWonLostDrawnW%
1Bandula Warnapura[2]1981/82EnglandSri Lanka10100%
1981/82PakistanPakistan2020
1982/83IndiaIndia1001
Total4031
2Duleep Mendis[3]1981/82†PakistanPakistan10010%
1982/83AustraliaSri Lanka10100%
1983/84New ZealandSri Lanka30210%
1984EnglandEngland10010%
1985IndiaSri Lanka310233%
1985/86PakistanPakistan30210%
1985/86PakistanSri Lanka311133%
1986/87IndiaIndia30210%
1986/87New ZealandSri Lanka10010%
Total1928910.53%
3Somachandra de Silva[4]1982/83New ZealandNew Zealand20200%
Total2020
4Ranjan Madugalle[5]
1987/88AustraliaAustralia1010
1988EnglandEngland1010
Total2020
5Arjuna Ranatunga[6]
1989/90AustraliaAustralia20110%
1990/91IndiaIndia10100%
1990/91New ZealandNew Zealand30030%
1992AustraliaSri Lanka30120%
1992/93New ZealandSri Lanka210150%
1992/93EnglandSri Lanka1100100%
1993IndiaSri Lanka30120%
1993South AfricaSri Lanka30120%
1993/94West IndiesSri Lanka10010%
1993/94IndiaIndia30300%
1994PakistanSri Lanka20200%
1994/95ZimbabweZimbabwe30030%
1994/95New ZealandNew Zealand210150%
1995/96PakistanPakistan321066.67%
1995/96AustraliaAustralia20200%
1996/97ZimbabweSri Lanka2200100%
1996/97New ZealandNew Zealand20200%
1996/97PakistanSri Lanka20020%
1997West IndiesWest Indies20110%
1997IndiaSri Lanka20020%
1997/98IndiaIndia30030%
1997/98ZimbabweSri Lanka2200100%
1997/98South AfricaSouth Africa20200%
1998New ZealandSri Lanka321066.67%
1998EnglandEngland1100100%
1998/99IndiaSri Lanka10010%
Total5612192521.43%
6Aravinda de Silva[7]

1991EnglandEngland10100%
1991/92PakistanPakistan3012
1995/96†AustraliaAustralia1010
1998/99†PakistanBangladesh1010
Total6042
7Hashan Tillakaratne[8]1998/99PakistanPakistan10010%
2003New ZealandSri Lanka20020%
2003West IndiesWest Indies20110%
2003/04EnglandSri Lanka310233.33%
2003/04AustraliaSri Lanka30300%
Total111469%
8Sanath Jayasuriya[9]
1999AustraliaSri Lanka310233.3%
1999/2000ZimbabweZimbabwe310233.33%
1999/2000PakistanPakistan321066.67%
2000PakistanSri Lanka30210%
2000South AfricaSri Lanka311133.33%
2000/01South AfricaSouth Africa30210%
2000/01EnglandSri Lanka312033.33%
2001IndiaSri Lanka321066.67%
2001/02Bangladesh1Sri Lanka1100100%
2001/02West IndiesSri Lanka3300100%
2001/02ZimbabweSri Lanka3300100%
2001/02Pakistan²Pakistan1100100%
2002EnglandEngland30210%
2002BangladeshSri Lanka2200100%
2002/03South AfricaSouth Africa10100%
Total381812847.37%
9Marvan Atapattu[10]
2002/03†South AfricaSouth Africa10100%
2004ZimbabweZimbabwe2200100%
2004AustraliaAustralia20110%
2004South AfricaSri Lanka210150%
2004/05PakistanPakistan211050%
2004/05New ZealandNew Zealand20110%
2005West IndiesSri Lanka2200100%
2005/06BangladeshSri Lanka2200100%
2005/06IndiaIndia30210%
Total1886444.44%
10Mahela Jayawardene[11]
2005/06BangladeshBangladesh2200100%
2005/06PakistanSri Lanka20110%
2006EnglandEngland311133%
2006South AfricaSri Lanka2200100%
2006/07New ZealandNew Zealand211050%
2007BangladeshSri Lanka3300100%
2007/08AustraliaAustralia20200%
2007/08EnglandSri Lanka310233%
2007/08West IndiesWest Indies211050%
2008IndiaSri Lanka321066%
2008/09BangladeshBangladesh2200100%
2008/09PakistanPakistan20020%
2011/12EnglandSri Lanka211050%
2012PakistanSri Lanka310233%
2012/13New ZealandSri Lanka211050%
2012/13AustraliaAustralia30300%
Total381812847.37%
11Kumar Sangakkara[12]
2009PakistanSri Lanka320166%
2009New ZealandSri Lanka2200100%
2009/10IndiaIndia30210%
2010IndiaSri Lanka311133%
2010/11West IndiesSri Lanka30030%
2011†EnglandEngland10010%
Total1553733.33%
12Tillakaratne Dilshan[13]
2011EnglandEngland20110%
2011AustraliaSri Lanka30120%
2011/12PakistanUnited Arab Emirates30120%
2011/12South AfricaSouth Africa312033%
Total111559.09%
13Angelo Mathews[14]
2012/13BangladeshSri Lanka210150%
2013/14PakistanUnited Arab Emirates311133%
2013/14BangladeshBangladesh210150%
2014EnglandEngland210150%
2014South AfricaSri Lanka20110%
2014PakistanSri Lanka2200100%
2014/15New ZealandNew Zealand20200%
2015PakistanSri Lanka312033%
2015IndiaSri Lanka312033%
2015/16West IndiesSri Lanka2200100%
2015/16New ZealandNew Zealand20200%
2016EnglandEngland30210%
2016AustraliaSri Lanka3300100%
2016/17South AfricaSouth Africa30300%
Total341315638.24%
14Rangana Herath[15]
2016/17ZimbabweZimbabwe2200100%
2016/17BangladeshSri Lanka211050%
2017IndiaSri Lanka10100%
Total532060%
15Dinesh Chandimal[16]
2017ZimbabweSri Lanka1100100%
2017IndiaSri Lanka20200%
2017/18PakistanUnited Arab Emirates2200100%
2017/18IndiaIndia30120%
2017/18BangladeshBangladesh210150%
2018West IndiesWest Indies20110%
2018/19EnglandSri Lanka10100%
2018/19New ZealandNew Zealand20110%
2018/19AustraliaAustralia20200%
2020/21EnglandSri Lanka20200%
Total19410521.05%
16Suranga Lakmal[17]
2018West IndiesWest Indies1100100%
2018South AfricaSri Lanka2200100%
2018/19EnglandSri Lanka20200%
Total532060%
17Dimuth Karunaratne[18]


2018/19South AfricaSouth Africa2200100%
2019New ZealandSri Lanka211050%
2019/20PakistanPakistan20110%
2019/20ZimbabweZimbabwe210150%
2020/21South AfricaSouth Africa20200%
2020/21West IndiesWest Indies20020%
2020/21BangladeshSri Lanka210150%
2021/22West IndiesSri Lanka2200100%
2021/22IndiaIndia20200%
2022BangladeshBangladesh210150%
2022AustraliaSri Lanka211050%
2022PakistanSri Lanka211050%
2022/23New ZealandNew Zealand20200%
2022/23IrelandSri Lanka2200100%
2023PakistanSri Lanka20200%
Total301212641.85%
18Dhananjaya De Silva[19]


2023/24AfghanistanSri Lanka1100100%
2023–24BangladeshBangladesh2200100%
Total3300100%
Grand total[20]3161031219232.59%

Notes:

  • 1 Asian Test Championship
  • ² Final of the Asian Test Championship

Updated 27 March 2022

Men's One-Day International captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan cricket team for at least one One Day International. Sri Lanka's greatest success was when they won the 1996 cricket World Cup under the captaincy of Arjuna Ranatunga.

Sri Lankan ODI captains
NumberNameYearPlayedWonLostNRTiedW%
1Anura Tennekoon[21]1975–1979404000%
2Bandula Warnapura[22]1979–19828350037.5%
3Duleep Mendis[23]1982–19876111464018.03%
4Somachandra de Silva[24]1983101000%
5Ranjan Madugalle[25]1988132110015.38%
6Arjuna Ranatunga[26]1988–199919389958146.11%
7Ravi Ratnayeke[27]198811000100%
8Aravinda de Silva[28]1992–1996185121027.78%
9Roshan Mahanama[29]1994202000%
10Sanath Jayasuriya[30]1998–200311765473255.56%
11Marvan Atapattu[31]2001–20066335271055.56%
12Mahela Jayawardene[32]2004–201312668498153.97%
13Chaminda Vaas[33]2006101000%
14Kumar Sangakkara[34]2009–20114527144060%
15Tillakaratne Dilshan[35]2010–20122611150042.31%
16Angelo Mathews[36]2012–201810449495147.12%
17Dinesh Chandimal[37]2013-201812650150%
18Lahiru Thirimanne[38]2015-20195140020%
19Upul Tharanga[39]2016–2017214150219.05%
20Chamara Kapugedera[40]2017101000%
21Lasith Malinga[41]2017–2019909000%
22Thisara Perera[42]20173120033.33%
23Dimuth Karunaratne[43]2019–2020161060062.5%
24Kusal Perera[44]20216141033.3%
25Dasun Shanaka[45]2021–20234123171058.9%
26Kusal Mendis[46]2023–present13751033.12%
Grand total[47]91542045040545.88%

Updated 15 February 2024

Twenty20 International captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan cricket team for at least one Twenty20 International.

Sri Lanka T20I captains
No.Name[48]FirstLastMatWonLostTiedNRWin%Ref.
1Mahela Jayawardene20062012191261065.78%[49]
2Tillakaratne Dilshan200820115230040.0%[50]
3Kumar Sangakkara20092012221390059.09%[51]
4Thilina Kandamby2011201111000100%[52]
5Angelo Mathews2012202116690140.00%[53]
6Dinesh Chandimal201320182613130050.00%[54]
7Lasith Malinga20142020247151132.60%[55]
8Upul Tharanga201720176330050.00%[56]
9Thisara Perera201720189090000.00%[57]
10Dasun Shanaka201920234822242047.91%[58]
11Kusal Perera20212021303000.00%[59]
12Sahan Arachchige20232023101000.00%[60]
13Wanindu Hasaranga2024Present9540066.66%[61]
Total192851004245.76%

Updated: 16 June 2024

ICC Trophy

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The ICC Trophy is the leading one-day tournament from non-Test teams, and Sri Lanka participated in the tournament before they gained Test status. This is a list of the men who captained Sri Lanka in the ICC Trophy.

Sri Lankan ICC Trophy captains
NumberNameYearPlayedWonTiedLostNo resultWhere finished
1Anura Tennekoon197933000Winners
2Bandula Warnapura197911000Winners
Grand total44000

Other Men's captains

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Rebel tours to South Africa

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In October and November 1982 a group of Sri Lankan cricketers went on a private tour of apartheid South Africa. It was the first time a tour comprising all non-white cricketers had toured white South Africa (a team of Kenyan Asians had previously visited the black areas of South Africa, and the International Wanderers XI

Women's cricket

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Test match captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan women's cricket team for at least one women's Test match. Sri Lanka have played only one women's Test.[62]

Sri Lankan women's Test match captains
NumberNameYearOppositionLocationPlayedWonLostDrawn
1Rasanjali Silva1997PakistanSri Lanka1100

Women's One-Day International captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan women's cricket team for at least one women's one-day international. The table of results is complete to the women's ODI against South Africa in the World Cup in 2004/5. Sri Lanka have never reached the semi-final stage in women's World Cups.

Sri Lankan women's ODI captains
NumberNameYearPlayedWonTiedLostNo result
1Vanessa Bowen199772050
2Rasanjali Silva1998–20001510050
3Suthershini Sivanantham2002–031212000
4Thanuja Ekanayake200440040
5Chandimali Samanthi200410010
6Sandamali Dolawatta2005–201361041
7Shashikala Siriwardene2005–201754180342
8Chamani Seneviratna201021010
9Dilani Manodara2010115051
10Chamari Athapaththu2014–2015111091
11Eshani Kaushalya201521010
12Inoka Ranaweera201740040
Grand total128510725

Women's Twenty20International captains

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Sri Lankan women's T20I captains
NumberNameYearPlayedWonTiedLostNo result
1Chamari Polgampola200931020
2Chamani Seneviratna201061050
3Shashikala Siriwardene2010–20143190202
4Dilani Manodara201251031
5Chamari Athapaththu2014–2015124080
Grand total57160383

Youth cricket

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Test match captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan Under-19 cricket team for at least one under-19 Test match. The table of results is complete to the second "Test" against Pakistan in 2004/5. Where a player has a dagger (†) next to a Test match series in which he captained at least one Test, that denotes that player was captain for a minor proportion in a series. The very nature of Under-19 cricket means that in practice no youth captains the side for more than one year.

Sri Lankan Under-19 Test match captains
NumberNameYearOppositionLocationPlayedWonLostDrawn
1Aravinda de Silva1983/4AustraliaAustralia3012
2Roshan Mahanama1984/5AustraliaAustralia1100
3Asanka Gurusinha1986EnglandEngland3012
4Denham Madena1986/7EnglandSri Lanka3003
5Suchithra Alexander1992EnglandEngland3012
6Avishka Gunawardene1993/4EnglandSri Lanka3102
7Nimesh Perera1996/7IndiaSri Lanka3021
8Upekha Fernando1998/9IndiaIndia1001
9Kaushalya Weeraratne2000EnglandEngland3210
10Thilina Kandamby2000/1AustraliaAustralia3030
11Farveez Maharoof2003PakistanSri Lanka2002
12Harsha Vithana2005PakistanPakistan2002
14Angelo Mathews2005EnglandEngland3030
15Sachith Pathirana2007IndiaSri Lanka2011
16Dinesh Chandimal2009BangladeshBangladesh2002
17Chathura Peiris2010EnglandEngland2110
18Bhanuka Rajapaksa2011BangladeshBangladesh2002
19Kusal Mendis2013IndiaSri Lanka4004
Grand total4761427

Youth One-Day International captains

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This is a list of cricketers who have captained the Sri Lankan Under-19 cricket team for at least one Under-19 One Day International. The table of results is complete to the end of the 2005/6 Afro-Asia Cup. Sri Lanka's best result in the Under-19 World Cup was as runners-up in 1999/2000 under the captaincy of Malintha Gajanayake.

Sri Lankan Under-19 ODI captains
NumberNameYearPlayedWonTiedLostNo result
1Aravinda de Silva1983/431020
2Asanka Gurusinha198622000
3Denham Madena1986/732010
4Rohan Weerakkody1987/873040
5Marvan Atapattu1989/9031020
6Avishka Gunawardene1993/432010
7Pradeep Hewage1997/864020
8Upekha Fernando1998/930030
9Prasanna Jayawardene1998/910010
10Malintha Gajanayake1999/200086020
11Kaushalya Weeraratne200030030
12Thilina Kandamby2000/141012
13Dhammika Niroshana2001/2101081
14Jeewan Mendis2001/211000
15Farveez Maharoof2003-2003/41990100
16Harsha Vithana2004/532010
17Angelo Mathews2005–200694041
18Sameera de Zoysa200621010
19Sachith Pathirana2007103061
20Ashan Priyanjan2007/08157080
21Dinesh Chandimal200951040
22Chathura Peiris2009/1024120102
23Bhanuka Rajapaksa2009–201153011
24Yashodha Lanka201110010
25Angelo Jayasinghe201173040
26Sanitha de Mel201285030
27Kusal Mendis2013/14189081
28Sadeera Samarawickrama201411000
29Charith Asalanka2015/16198092
Grand total225105010812

See also

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References

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Notes

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