Sri Lankan Thilan Samaraweera addresses the press conference in Colombo yesterday. Pic/AFP

“There was no point in waiting for nine months. I respect the decision of the selectors to go with young players and decided it was the right time for me to retire.”

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Samaraweera will, however, play for Worcestershire in English county cricket this year.

He compiled 5,462 runs in 81 Tests at an average of 48.76 with 14 centuries.

He also played 53 one-day internationals, scoring 862 runs at 27.80 with two hundreds.

His form dipped on a recent tour of Australia where he managed just 79 runs in six Test innings, the dismal performance eventually leading to his ouster from the squad against Bangladesh and his retirement.