Jayawardena quits as Sri Lankan vice-captain, selectors too step down

As a fallout of Sri Lanka'a defeat in the World Cup final, veteran batsman Mahela Jayawardena quit as vice-captain, while the national selection committee, headed by chief selector Aravinda De Silva, handed its resignation to the sports minister on Wednesday.

This happened a day after Kumar Sangakkara stepped down as one-day and Twenty20 skipper.

"I think it's time to move on, give the reins to someone younger in the team," Jayawardena said.

Jayawardena, 33, was named vice-captain for the 2011 World Cup, where Sri Lanka lost to India by six wickets in the final in Mumbai last week despite his impressive century. Jayawardena, who has scored 9,527 runs in Tests and 9,423 in one-day internationals, quit as Sri Lanka's captain in February 2009.

Sri Lanka Cricket chairman D. S. de Silva said the governing body had accepted Jayawardene's resignation. "The selectors will sit down in the next two to three days to choose a captain and vice-captain," de Silva told reporters.

In another unexpected move, the committee, that was appointed on May 26, 2010, and included Ranjith Fernando, Amal Silva and Azwer Ali, stepped down.

Sangakkara stood down on Tuesday to allow selectors to groom new leaders for the next cricket World Cup in 2015.

Sri Lanka's next international assignment is the tour of England in May-July for three Tests and five one-dayers.