Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Kulasekara quits Test cricket

Colombo, June 1। Sri Lankan seamer Nuwan Kulasekara on Wednesday announced his retirement from Test cricket, in an attempt to prolong his career in the shorter formats.

"I would like to retire from playing Test cricket with immediate effect," he said in a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) release. 

"After much thought I believe it is the right time to retire and I hope it will allow me to better prepare for ODI and T20 cricket, which I would like to continue playing for Sri Lanka subject to good performance and selection," the 33-year-old added.

Kulasekara, who made his Test debut in April 2005, had taken 48 wickets from 21 matches, with 8 for 58 in 28.4 overs against Pakistan here being his best performance. He played his last Test in June 2014 at Lord's, where Sri Lanka clung on to a nail-biting draw against England. 

In the limited overs games, the right-arm pacer was ranked the No. 1 bowler in March 2009. He has picked 186 wickets from 173 One-Day Internationals and 56 from 50 Twenty20 Internationals.

Agency