Sanath Jayasuriya to retire from international cricket

(GETTY IMAGES)

Sri Lanka all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has today announced he will retire from international cricket during this month's tour of England.

Hours after being picked for the Twenty20 international against England and five limited-overs matches, the veteran revealed he will play only the Twenty20 and one ODI.

Jayasuriya, who will be 42 at the end of the month, told reporters in Colombo today: "I invited you not to share the happiness of my being selected to play for Sri Lanka again, but to announce my decision to end my international career of more than 20 years.

"I consider it a privilege to have represented Sri Lanka to bring glory to my country and the town of Matara where I come from.

"The selectors picked me for the whole series but it was my personal decision to retire midway."

Jayasuriya, who made his ODI debut in 1989, was originally included in a 16-man squad, despite not playing a limited-overs international for his country since December 2009, while he played his last Twenty20 match a year ago.

He was not included in Sri Lanka's World Cup squad and failed to secure a contract with a franchise in this year's Indian Premier League, leading many to believe he would not play international cricket again.

Jayasuriya's one-day international record is impressive - only Sachin Tendulkar has scored more runs than his 13,428 in ODI action, while he has taken 322 wickets with his left-arm spin.