Sri Lanka wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana has retired from international cricket after missing out on selection for a training squad for next month's tour of New Zealand.

Kaluwitharana has been dropped many times previously but with his 35th birthday fast approaching is now determined to hang up his boots for good.

"I have decided to call it a day having not been selected for New Zealand," Kaluwitharana told reporters on Tuesday.

"I started my Test career on a high note with a century against Australia and I'm happy to end it with a half century against Pakistan."

The diminutive Kaluwitharana made 54 in his side's six-wicket defeat by Pakistan in the second Test in Karachi last week, playing as a specialist batsman.

"I must have made 20 to 30 comebacks in my career but I don't want to drag my career on for the sake of it and the time is now right to go," Kaluwitharana added. "I wish Sri Lankan cricket all the best for the future."

Kaluwitharana was widely respected for his cavalier batting style, especially during Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup triumph when he teamed up with Sanath Jayasuriya in famous pinch-hitting assaults to lay the platform for many of the team's victories.

His career was dogged by inconsistency, however, and a final Test average of 26.12 from 49 matches represented underachievement for a batsman of such natural talent.

Kaluwitharana lost his place in the one-day side after the emergence of Kumar Sangakkara, finishing with 3,711 runs in 189 matches at an average of 22.22.