Sri Lanka stepped onto the international cricket stage in 1975 during the first Cricket World Cup and have been regulars ever since. They’ve had some great times in the 50-over game, even grabbing the 1996 ODI World Cup and the 2002 Champions Trophy.
Back in the day, Anura Tennekoon had the honor of being Sri Lanka’s first ODI captain. Fast forward to now, and Charith Asalanka is the current captain. Asalanka started playing internationally in 2021 and quickly became a reliable player in the shorter formats of the game. He’s a dependable middle-order batter and chips in with some handy off-spin bowling. In 2024, he was chosen as the 27th player to captain Sri Lanka in ODIs.
He took the reins after Kusal Mendis stepped down following a rough patch at the 2023 ODI World Cup. With Asalanka at the helm, Sri Lanka celebrated a home ODI series win against India, something they hadn’t done in twenty years. They also managed to snag an ODI series win against New Zealand at home. Let’s take a look at Charith Asalanka’s T20 captaincy record.
In T20Is, Asalanka has captained Sri Lanka in 19 games. Even though things didn’t start perfectly, he’s seemed to be a capable leader and has the potential to up his game. Out of those 19 T20Is, Asalanka led his team to 8 wins and faced ten losses, giving him a win rate of 42.10%. Interestingly, he’s won the coin toss in eleven of those 19 matches, boasting a toss-winning percentage of 57.89%.
Charith Asalanka Captaincy Record:
| Matches Played | 19 |
| Matches Won | 8 |
| Matches Lost | 10 |
| Tied/No Result | 1 |
| Tosses Won | 11 |
With Asia cup 2025 just around the corner Sri Lanka will look to challenge all other 7 teams in the tournament ,This Asia Cup will also help Charith Asalanka to establish himself as a successful T20 captain for the Lankan Lions.
Sri Lanka last won the T20 edition of the tournament in 2022 and will open their campaign against Bangladesh on September 13. It will then play Hong Kong on September 13 followed by their final Group match against Afghanistan on September 15.
Asalanka will look to clinch the Cup as captain and add a new successful chapter in the glorious history of Sri Lankan Cricket.
