Tharanga won’t walk away from captaincy

Cricket365
October 24, 2017

Upul Tharanga insists he will not quit as Sri Lanka limited-overs captain despite suffering a five-nil ODI series whitewash against Pakistan in the UAE.

Pakistan won the final match of the series by nine wickets in Sharjah on Monday as Sri Lanka slipped to their 12th consecutive ODI defeat.

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Before the start of this year Sri Lank had only ever suffered one five-nil series defeat but in 2017 they have fell to five-nil ODI series losses three times – against South Africa, India and now Pakistan.

Tharanga, who will not lead the team in the upcoming three-match T20 series because of security fears in Pakistan, says he will not walk away from the captaincy.

Speaking to reporters after the game on Monday, Tharanga said: “It’s the responsibility of the selectors and the board. I don’t want to leave the team and go. The board will decide who will take the team forward,”

“As captain, I would like to take the blame for the defeats. The batsmen also need to take a fair share of the blame.

“We have to score as a team. Batsmen can fail two or three games, but not all five games. It’s tough when we don’t perform as a team.”

The first two T20s between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and Friday with the third and final game to be played in Lahore on Sunday.