Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan Captain, Steps Down

Mere moments after a heartbreaking loss in the ICC Twenty20 tournament final, Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene, 35, stepped down as Captain of his team in an emotional press conference.

The captaincy of Sri Lanka seems to be a batton that no one quite relishes, as capable players such as Jaywardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan have each relinquished the title in recent months without a clear replacement.

We have yet to see who will step up and fill the void of arguably one of the best ever to step between the wickets, but the whispers seem to be hinting at the name of all-rounder, Angelo Mathews.

Mathews, 25, is noted by several to have strong leadership qualities and has plenty of experience as the vice captain in all three formats of the game.

Whether or not the resignation of Jayawardene will also be effective for the ODI and Test teams remains to be seen. According to NDTV, Jayawardene declared "I think we need a young leader. It's a great opportunity for somebody to start (captaining) in the T20 format. I haven't stepped down from the other formats (Test matches and ODIs), obviously I took over till December...I will assess what I want to do after that."

The stylish batsman also made sure to mention that the loss in the final against the West Indies had no bearing on his decision. SportLive claimed that Jaywardene indicated that he "had a chat with the selectors before the tournament started. I was going to step down from T20 captaincy after this World Cup."

The next Twenty20 match for Sri Lanka will be on October 30th, at home in Kandy, against New Zealand.