Sri Lanka veteran spinner Rangana Herath has announced his decision to retire from cricket following the completion of the first Test against England.
The 40-year-old will call time on his 19-year international career at his favourite venue – Galle. The left-arm orthodox spinner has picked up 99 wickets at the venue for the first Test and should he get to the century-mark, he will become only the second bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan to do so at the ground.
Herath has so far picked up 430 wickets in 92 Tests for Sri Lanka at an average of under 28 since he made his international debut in 1999 at Galle.
The Sri Lanka veteran is currently in the 10th spot in the all-time leading wicket-takers list in Test cricket and he could make a jump of three places should he pick up five wickets or more in his final match.
SLC wishes to inform that Mr. Rangana Herath following a discussion he had with the SLC CEO and the selectors, notified his retirement from test cricket, after the 1st test match, in Galle against England. #ThankYouHerath https://t.co/4V6f6LjTpp pic.twitter.com/Cu12JQXZrv
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) October 22, 2018
The wily southpaw is the most prolific left-arm spinner in Test history and he has managed to bag 34 five-wicket hauls along with nine 10-wicket match hauls in his distinguished career so far.
“We respect and support Rangana’s decision. His retirement will be a big loss for Sri Lanka cricket. We wish to thank him for the invaluable contribution he has made,” Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva said in a statement.
For long Herath had lived in the shadow of Muralitharan but ever since the off-spinner’s retirement in 2010, he has led the team’s spin attack.
Incidentally, Muralitharan’s swansong came at the same venue.
Herath’s most memorable performance in the red-ball format came in a Test against Pakistan in 2014 where he picked up a match-haul of 14-184. His 9-127 in the first innings of that Test is the best performance by any left-arm bowler in history.
Apart from the 92 Tests, Herath has also featured in 71 ODIs and 17 T20s for his country.
