Left-handed batsman Hashan Tillakaratne has been named the captain of Sri Lanka's Test team while Marvan Atapattu was given the charge of the one-day side.

The 36-year-old Tillakaratne will take charge immediately, and lead Sri Lanka in the two-Test home series against New Zealand, starting on April 25.

The appointments came in the wake of Sanath Jayasuriya's resignation after Sri Lanka crashed out of the four-nation tournament in Sharjah in the league stages last week.

Jayasuriya captained Sri Lanka in both Tests and one-dayers.

The 32-year-old Atapattu, who was vice-captain of the team, under Jayasuriya, was widely believed to take over as skipper but a spokesman of the Sri Lankan cricket board said the national selectors had decided to adopt a new policy of having separate captains for Test and one-day teams.

The appointments need the approval of the Sports Minister before coming into effect.