Aravinda De Silva retires from Test cricket

Sri Lanka's greatest batsman, Aravinda De Silva, retired from Test cricket but expressed his desire to play one-dayers until next year's World Cup.

The 36-year-old informed chairman of selectors Guy de Alwis that he should not be considered for the Test series in South Africa.

"Aravinda has bowed out of Tests but wants to keep playing one-day internationals till the World Cup," an official of the Sri Lankan cricket board said.

De Silva scored 6,361 runs from 93 Tests at an average of 42.97. He hit 20 hundreds, including a double century against Bangladesh in his last Test innings here in July.

The hero of Sri Lanka's World Cup triumph in 1996, the stylish stroke player was the world's third-highest scorer in one-day internationals with 8,803 runs from 288 matches.

De Silva is currently in England to play a charity indoor match for the Rest of the World against England.

Sidelined by the selectors for 18 months, De Silva returned for the recent tour of England 12 kilograms lighter and helped Sri Lanka reach the final of the just-concluded Champions Trophy at home.

Speaking to rediff.com in Colombo during the ICC Champions Trophy, De Silva had said that he would retire from the game when he wanted to quit when he was on top.

"The critics keep me going. As long as they criticize me I will keep playing. I will call it a day when I want to. That is what I want to do. I will fight until the end," he had said.

De Silva is a certainty for the one-day series in Australia in December and the World Cup to be played in South Africa in February-March next year.

Speaking about life after cricket, the stocky batsman said that he hadn’t decided yet.

"I have got my little son and wife who I would love to spend more time with. My son is only 8 months and I would like to see him grow," he said.