Jayawardene, selection committee resign

Sri Lankan Cricket's week of turmoil continued on Wednesday as vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene and the entire selection committee, headed by chief selector Aravinda de Silva, handed in their resignations. This after Kumar Sangakkara had on Tuesday quit the ODI and Twenty20 captaincy and outlined his plans to eventually relinquish the Test helm.
The term of de Silva and fellow committee members Ranjith Fernando, Amal Silva and Azwer Ali was due to end on April 30, but their choice to collectively step down in advance, according to their statement, comes as a means for "the new selection committee "an opportunity to make short- and long- term plans, in the way they think is best for our cricket."
Just four days after Sri Lanka's World Cup final loss to India, de Silva wrote in his resignation letter: "When we took over our assignment, our broad goal was always to hand over Sri Lankan cricket in better shape than when we took over.
"While like everyone else associated with SLC, we are also enormously disappointed at not being able to annex the coveted World Cup, which was lost to India in a highly competitive final, we are happy we have been able to meet most of our objectives in a very short space of time."
Whereas Jayawardene was entirely brief in the reason behind his resignation, merely stating "it is time to move on, give the reins to someone younger in the team," SLC secretary Nishanta Ranatunga clarified that de Silva and company are "willing to serve again as long as they are appointed.
"But in the absence of a captain or a vice-captain they felt that the minister should handle the selections and they have given him the opportunity to do so. They have left it now for the minister to take a call on their resignation."
Sangakkara's shock decision leaves Tillakaratne Dilshan and Angelo Mathews vying for the captaincy, with the new captain set to lead his side through a busy season, which includes daunting tours to Australia and England.
Meanwhile, former Australian batsman Stuart Law has been appointed as Sri Lanka's interim coach for the tour of England next month.
Law had assisted outgoing head coach Trevor Bayliss, who announced earlier in the year that he would step down after the World Cup, since late 2009 and is tipped to eventually take the post on a full-time basis.