Kusal Mendis will ​take over as Sri Lanka Test ‌captain after all-rounder Dhananjaya de ​Silva stepped down, the ⁠country’s cricket board said on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Mendis, already the one-day and T20 ‌skipper, has played 75 Tests for Sri Lanka, scoring ‌4,836 runs at an ‌average ⁠of 36.36, including 10 centuries ⁠and 23 fifties.

The two-Test series in Pakistan starting in Rawalpindi on November 9 ​will be Mendis’ ‌first assignment as Test captain.

De Silva, 35, who will remain available for selection, succeeded Dimuth Karunaratne ‌as Test captain in January ​2024 and led Sri Lanka in 18 Tests, winning ⁠seven.

“It’s my genuine opinion that the mantle should go down to ‌the next generation,” de Silva said in a letter to the selection committee.

His resignation comes after a difficult year for Sri Lanka, who are seventh ‌in the World Test Championship standings after ​losing a Test series in the West Indies and ⁠suffering a home series defeat by ⁠India.

De Silva has played for Sri Lanka in 69 Tests ‌and remains one of the side’s most experienced players.