Sri Lanka’s left-arm bowler Rangana Herath is retiring earlier than expected and will bid farewell after next month’s opening Test against England in Galle, the cricket board announced Monday.
Herath, 40, was expected to bow out at the conclusion of England’s three-Test tour, but he will now call it quits from international cricket at the same ground where he made his Test debut against Australia in 1999.
“We respect and support Rangana’s decision even though his retirement will be a big loss for Sri Lanka Cricket,” the Sri Lankan board said. “We wish to thank him for the invaluable contribution he has made.” Herath has played 92 Tests, taking 430 wickets – making him Sri Lanka’s second most prolific bowler behind Muttiah Muralitharan, who holds the all-time world record of 800.
Herath has 430 wickets to his name in 92 Test matches. Since Muralitharan exited the scene, the 40-year-old took over the mantle of being Sri Lanka’s premier strike bowler in five-day cricket. Herath also played a significant hand in Sri Lanka’s first-ever win in South Africa, picking up 11 wickets in the match.
His last One-day International appearance was in Wellington against England in March 2015. The first Test against England starts on November 6.