Malinga steps down, Mathews to lead Sri Lanka

Mohan de Silva, vice-president of Sri Lanka Cricket, confirmed that the paceman had offered to step down on Sunday evening. "He is stepping down only from captaincy," de Silva said. "He has offered himself for selection only after (March) 15 because he is undergoing some treatment here in Sri Lanka."

Sri Lanka’s first match in the Super 10s is against the qualifier from Group B of the competition, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 17. The other teams in Sri Lanka’s group are West Indies, England and South Africa.

Apart from the change in captaincy, the defending champion has made two other changes to the 15-man squad for the tournament announced last month. Lahiru Thirimanne, the experienced left-hand batsman, and Suranga Lakmal, the fast bowler, come in at the expense of Jeffrey Vandersay, the legspinning allrounder, and Niroshan Dickwella, the wicketkeeper-batsman.

Sri Lanka has endured a poor run in T20I cricket since last November, winning just 3 of 11 games played while drawing a two-match series at home against West Indies, losing away to New Zealand and India, and then managing a solitary victory in four games at the Asia Cup.