Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has announced his intention to retire from international Twenty20 cricket after the upcoming World Cup.
The 36-year-old has made 50 appearances for the Lions in the shortest format of the sport and was part of both teams that lost in the finals of the 2009 and 2012 tournaments.
He will have one more go at lifting the trophy in Bangladesh, but Sangakkara has revealed that he will then step aside to allow Sri Lanka's younger players to gain experience for the next World Cup.
The wicket-keeper, though, will continue to play in domestic Twenty20 competitions across the world.
"Definitely, without a doubt, this is my last World Twenty20. I won't be playing any T20 internationals after this," he told the Sunday Island.
"It's sad, but that's the truth. It's not the end of my T20 career, though. I would like to play franchise-based T20s. Once your World Cup prospects are over, you should give the next crop of players an opportunity. It's a natural progression.
"Improving is the whole purpose of playing. When you reach a goal, you lift that goal and try to achieve something new. Whether you are young or older, the motivation has to be there. The day that motivation goes and you are just trying to hold on to your place in the side, that's the time that you have to decide that the time is right to go."
Sangakkara has scored 1,311 runs at an average of 32.77, with a strike rate of 120, in international Twenty20s.
Joe Fish
