Sanath Jayasuriya feels let down by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene

Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara

Former Sri Lanka opener and current chief selector of Sri Lanka Cricket, Sanath Jayasuriya, has spoken about being disappointed by the decision of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to not keep him informed regarding their retirement plans.

“I feel very let down by them. I’ve been very transparent with them. If they’re even resting, I’ve been calling them and telling them what’s going on. I never ever dealt controversially with any senior player,” Jayasuriya was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

Sangakkara and Jayawardene both recently announced that they would be retiring from T20 Internationals after the ongoing World T20 Championships in Bangladesh.

Sangakkara announced his decision just prior to the team’s departure to Bangladesh and Jayawardene announced his retirement after the team landed in Bangladesh via the ICC’s Twitter Mirror campaign.

“When I became a selector there were a lot of stories and comments in the media, that we were going to do this and that, but we didn’t do anything of that sort,” Jayasuriya said.

“I’ve always handled the seniors in a different way. Whatever respect should be given to that senior player has been given, as a selection panel,” Jayasuriya added.

Jayasuriya also labelled the actions of the two senior batsmen as highly unethical in an interview to the Daily Mirror.

“They should have had the common decency to inform the selectors who could then prepare Sri Lanka for the next phase,” he said.

“Traditionally any international player takes an important decision such as retirement after consulting the selectors first. This shows they are ungrateful for what they got through playing for the country.”

The Sri Lankan players have been involved in a tense stand-off with the country’s cricket board over contract and payment issues and the latest controversy will not help the players or the board in any way.