Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has decided to retire from One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International cricket.

Herath has submitted a letter expressing his intention to retire from ODI and T20I cricket with immediate effect and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has accepted his request, SLC Secretary Mohan de Silva said.

However, Rangana Herath will continue to play Test cricket for Sri Lanka, he said. 

In a letter addressed to Sri Lanka Cricket, Herath says he would like to concentrate on Test cricket – which has always been his personal passion. He went on to say ”Every cricketer has to stop at the right time, I feel it’s time to make room for fresh talent to be groomed with the 2019 World Cup in view.”

With a career best (Tests) of 9/127 against Pakistan in 2014, 4/20 (ODI) against India in 2013 and 5/3 (T20I) against New Zealand at the WT20 in 2014, Herath has been an integral part of the Sri Lanka bowling arsenal where his brilliant accuracy and subtle variation in pace and flight made him a force to reckon with both at home and away.

Prior to the T20 World Cup in India, the spinner had expressed his intention to retire from the shorter formats of the game.

“Every cricketer needs to stop at the right time. I have a few desires left, but I am not getting any younger. I will decide after the (T20) World Cup what I am going to do. I want to play some Test cricket after that, so I might stop playing ODIs and T20s after that,” he had said, speaking to Wisden India.