Sangakkara last month questioned the system and said it was not fair as the ICC had not devised a proper home-and-away format in its Future Tour Programme, hinting that Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men had not won series abroad against Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa.

Muralitharan, who retired last month as Test cricket’s highest wicket taker, had a completely different view on the system and said it was not necessary for a team to beat all other sides on tours before becoming number one.

“India deserve to be the number one Test side because they have won a lot of matches. They won against Australia in Australia, they won against England in England and they drew the recent series in Sri Lanka 1-1,” he told reporters on the eve of the launch of Champions League Twenty20 here.

“You can’t criticise by saying that the point system is not good. That means you are trying to find fault with everyone. When some team deserves credit it should be given, you have to be honest,” Muralitharan said. “I think you can’t justify by saying that you have to win home and away and then only you can be the number one. When Australia was the number one Test side, they had lost a series against us in Sri Lanka. Only in 2004, Australia won a series against us in Sri Lanka. I think the ICC have got a system in place and they have done it to the best of their ability. It is fair enough and whoever is number one under this, they deserve it. No system can be perfect. There are nine Test playing countries and if you try to play home and away matches by each country, it will take five-six years to rotate and it is impractical.”

Muralitharan refused to dwell much on his recent attack on former Indian captain and his untiring critic Bishen Singh Bedi and said, “I don’t care what the reaction is from other people” after his outburst.

“Whatever I have said, I have said. That’s it,” he replied when asked if he had planned the verbal attack on Bedi.

Asked if he was surprised by the criticism from former Indian cricketers like Erapalli Prasanna and Maninder Singh for his criticism of Bedi, he said, “I don’t care what anybody says. Whatever I have said is said. Whether they take it or not I don’t care.”

Muralitharan retired from Test cricket at 37 and he feels age should not be a criteria in judging an athlete.

“I don’t think age should not be the criteria as long as you are fit. Performance is the criteria. Sachin Tendulkar is 37 and he is getting a century, double hundred and everything. I also took lots of wickets before retiring. Experience is the advantage in Test cricket, though there should be balance. A mixture of youth and experience is ideal,” he said.

Muralitharan said Harbhajan Singh should not be put under undue pressure for failing to perform in the recent Sri Lanka Test series and young tweakers like Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra should be given some time to settle down.

“You cannot take the performance of only one tournament to judge Harbhajan. He is going through a rough patch. Before the last two Tests, he took wickets against us in Mumbai. He is a great bowler and he will come back and take wickets. The other spinners, Ojha, Mishra and even R Ashwin, are good bowlers. It is very hard to criticise them from one or two matches. You can’t compare them with Anil Kumble who is a legend. Give some time to them and with experience they will do well,” he said.

He also advised Dhoni not to use Virender Sehwag’s part-time spin excessively in Test cricket as it may affect the dashing opener’s batting. “If Sehwag is used more, his batting may come down, as it is hard to bowl and score. If Sehwag is used more in Test cricket as a slow bowler, it may affect his batting. It is very hard to be a bowler in Test cricket.”

Muralitharan also revealed that he has been told by Sri Lankan Cricket Chairman of selectors Aravinda de Silva to prepare for the one-day tour of Australia in November.

The spin wizard would also play another three years in the Indian Premier League.

“I have been told by Aravinda to be prepared for the ODI tour of Australia. I have not stopped training and going to the gym. I will not change my earlier routine and will train my hardest. Everyday I bowl and bat with whatever facilities I am getting in Sri Lanka. I want to play the next three years of IPL before retiring totally from cricket. So I have to practice, and definitely I would like to play in England or some other place,” he said.

He said he gave up Test cricket to play a little longer in the two formats of the game and vacate a seat for the youngsters.

“I have had enough and I have nothing to achieve anymore. So I took up the challenge of taking eight wickets in my last Test (against India in Galle last month). Everything went my way and I retired happily. If I were to play all three formats, I think I will have just one or one-and-half year left. But if I play only shorter versions of the game, I can play two to three more years,” he added.

Talking about the Champions League, Muralitharan agreed with former India captain Sourav Ganguly who had said that it would be tough for the three IPL Teams to win the September 10-26 event to be played at four venues in South Africa.

“Last time, an Australian team won the tournament and it is not going to be easy for IPL teams because the other teams have good players. It is hard to pick the favourite, as in Twenty20 anything can happen. The team which plays best in the two weeks will win. I hope Chennai Super Kings play well and take the trophy like we did in the IPL. It is not going to be easy but we have players who can win the tournament,” he said.

“Of course, it was with amusement that I read Murali’s parting shot at Bedi. It was brilliant timing too,” Atapattu said. “He (Murali) has hardly said anything on his way to 800 wickets and when his work was done with a world record tucked under his belt he came out with this quip in answer to Bedi. Who can take him on? Perfect timing of the ball,” Atapattu wrote in The Sunday Leader newspaper.

Muralitharan recently uncharacteristically attacked Bedi, calling the former Indian captain a controversy monger and an ordinary bowler who would have been hammered by any batsman if he was playing now.

An untiring critic of Muralitharan, Bedi has repeatedly called him a “chucker” and asked the ICC to ban the bowler’s “doosra” as it was illegal.

The former opening batsman also praised all-rounder Suraj Randiv and hoped that the 25-year-old takes inspiration from Muralitharan to improve his off-spin skills. “Randiv had a great start to his career and he should develop something new in his armour like Murali did. He would do well, I am certain,” said the cricketer-turned-commentator.

Speaking about the just-concluded three-match Test series against India, Atapattu said that the good scores registered by Sri Lankans proved that the country’s batting order is now able to handle a strong pace attack.

“In the early 80s through to the 90s, people had doubts whether the Sri Lankans could play genuine fast bowling. The local fans, as well as those playing, thought first of the strengths of the opposition fast men. Recall when Duleep Mendis and Sunil Wettimuny were felled by the Australians? Funny as it may seem, I can now recall a time when Ashley de Silva and I were 12th and 13th during a Test series in Pakistan when we were more on the field with the magic spray than the eleven picked! Then, players like Aravinda (de Silva) came along and walked up to fastmen like Wasim Akram and Jeff Lawson to cart them around the park,” Atapattu wrote.

“Today, guys like (Tillakaratne) Dilshan sweep fast bowlers! They not only have the skills but their body language shows that they are in control. They score confidently and at a brisk pace too,” he added.

Atapattu also made a special mention of batsman Thilan Samaraweera and said he had the right temperament for the longer version of the game.

“I always felt that Thilan Samaraweera had the right attitude and capacity for Test cricket. Thilan is in a different mould. For a guy who scored mostly behind the wicket at the early stages, much to the chagrin of the team management, he has come a long way. He was most unfortunate to miss out on a twin century. Sri Lanka is fortunate to have him padding up at five for the team,” he said. “His two elder brothers had greater talent. In fact the eldest, Charmika, was outstanding when young, but didn’t persist. Duleep, the second was unfortunate when he played at a time when the openers were merely meant to see the new ball off. Those were the days.”

On Umpires Decision Review System (DRS), Atapattu said he strongly feels that there should be some consistency in its application by the ICC.

“The umpires referral system for one must be uniformly applied to all Tests, irrespective of where it is played, and so it should be with the make of balls. Some use Dukes and others use Kookaburra or SG. One can accept the starting time of a game depending on the geographical location but other aspects should be uniform in my book,” Atapattu said.

Legendary Indian spinners EAS Prasanna and Maninder Singh, on Wednesday, counter-attacked Muttiah Muralitharan, saying that the ICC had bent the rules for him after the recently retired spinner trained his guns on Bishan Singh Bedi, saying that if Bedi had played in this era, he would have been thrashed by the batsmen.

Prasanna, who played a majority of his test cricket with Bedi , told CNN-IBN, “Looking at one side of the coin, he has been cleared and what not. The fact of the matter still remains that the ICC has bent the rule for him.”

“He (Murali) does not fit into the bloc of conventional bowling. Now they (ICC) have allowed people to take advantage of 15 degrees. Therefore, it is okay,” he added.

Prasanna labeled Murali’s comments as “loose” and “uncalled for” and said that Murali “shouldn’t have reacted at all”.

The former Indian offie paid glowing tributes to the former India captain, calling him “one of the greatest left-arm spinners this game has ever seen”. “India is lucky to have had Bishan Singh Bedi bowl for India,” he added.

Prasanna, who was part of the famed spin quartet in the 1970s, had a word of advice for Murali, saying, “If I had taken 800 wickets, I would have been happy about the effort. So Murali should have looked at it that way.”

Maninder Singh went all guns blazing against Muralitharan’s comments, saying that he had lost respect for the Lankan bowler. “If Bedi was allowed to bend his arm, he would have had five-wicket hauls in 67 Test matches that he has played. So Murali, I think, should keep his mouth shut, really. He had the license from the ICC to keep chucking and that is why he started his ‘doosra’ as well and he knew then no one could stop him. So the rate of wickets started increasing and that’s why he has got so many wickets.”

“Talking about such a great bowler as Bishan Singh Bedi, I don’t think Murali is doing justice to himself. I have also said that Murali is mentally so strong that after being criticised about his action, he has taken so many wickets but I think I have lost respect for him,” Maninder added.

Noted cricket commentator and analyst Harsha Bhogle also thought that Murali “has got it desperately wrong when he calls Bedi an ordinary bowler”.

“You may not like someone but that doesn’t make a legend bad,” Bhogle said on social networking site Twitter. “By Murali’s reasoning, anyone who gets only “200″ is no big deal. Were Mikey Holding and Andy Roberts ordinary bowlers? Pity.”

“Doesn’t make Murali a lesser bowler but am surprised at his outburst. Unlike the person I know. Anyway, guess each entitled to his view!,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, former Australian skipper Steve Waugh has defended Murali’s outburst of having called Bedi an “ordinary” spinner. “Muralitharan has been right in hitting back at Bishan Singh Bedi,” Waugh said. “Bedi has been criticising Murali for a long time, so it is only justified.”

Bedi has been an untiring critic of Muralitharan, repeatedly calling the Sri Lankan a “chucker” and asking the ICC to ban the Sri Lankan’s “doosra” as it was illegal. Muralitharan, who retired last week after completing 800 Test wickets at Galle against India, made an uncharacteristic attack on Bedi, saying that he was just an ordinary bowler.

Asked about the lack of world-class spinners in India, except for Harbhajan Singh, Muralitharan said Bedi was not in the league of Anil Kumble, B S Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Erapalli Prasanna.

“I don’t think Bedi comes even close to a contest on that (greatest Indian spinners). I saw some bowling of his playing days. In modern era, if he plays he will get hammered every ball, that is what will happen. So no comparison,” the world’s most successful spinner said in an interview.

“Prasanna is a good bowler. I have seen his bowling. Venkataraghavan is good. But Bedi does not come in that category,” he said.

Though without mentioning the constant criticism he got from Bedi, the affable Sri Lankan advised the former Indian captain to refrain from whipping up controversies. “He (Bedi) is also a controversial person. He has lot of controversies everywhere in the world. And he should think about himself first rather than talking about other people,” Muralitharan said.

Asked about Bedi’s comments to ban the ‘doosra’ from international cricket, Muralitharan lampooned the Indian by saying that he has no variations in his bowling and was therefore critical of others. “He (Bedi) did not have any variation. He just bowled left arm spin and pitch did the variation for him. That is what he bowled.”

Muralitharan said Anil Kumble was the best spinner India had produced and records spoke for themselves. “You guys forget that the best spinner is Anil Kumble. Not Bedi or Venkataraghavan or any other. I think the best ever spinner produced (in India) is Kumble. No doubt about it and nobody can doubt it. Statistics-wise and on the basis of other things, he is far ahead than other guys.”

Muralitharan refused to compare Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara but said on the basis of statistics, the Indian maestro was far ahead of any batsman.

“Sachin and Lara have been the most consistent batsmen in the world (to face my bowling). I admire them. I have most regards for those two guys and now place Ricky Ponting also in that list. I don’t know who plays me better. They are different individuals. Statisticswise, Sachin is heading the pack. You can say Sachin is the best on that basis. But you see, the other two players are great players too, they are also legends. I think you cannot make comparisons. They play in different conditions and situations,” he said.

Muralitharan said he had no regrets in his cricketing career though it was haunted by controversies over his bowling action. “It (controversy) did not haunt me at all. I went through it and I have done what I wanted to do in my cricketing life. So no regrets. Nothing. I am very happy to retire (from Test cricket),” he said.

He did not agree that players were getting injured due to more volume of cricket since Twenty20 became big. “I don’t think so. If a player is fit to play, he should play every format. The players’ careers are very short, they enjoy all form of the games. So the three forms of cricket will continue though Test is the ultimate,” he said.

Muralitharan said it would be difficult for India to come back into the three-match series against Sri Lanka as they have little chance to win the second Test. “Sri Lanka is too strong at the moment. They are playing really well and the batsmen are getting lot of runs. It could be difficult to get a result in this match unless Sri Lanka wins. India cannot win this Test match. Unless something unpredictable happens.”

He refused to think that the era of Australian domination was over and said they are still a force to reckon in world cricket.

“Very difficult to say Australia have declined. They may decline for about a year, six months, five months. Then they can come back. So you can’t say they are a bad side. They are a very good side,” he said. “Statistically, they were performing brilliantly during the last decade. Now they miss players like Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath … Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer to open. So the youngsters will have to come and fill the void. It will take a little bit of time for them.”

Muralitharan brought down the curtains on his glittering 18-year-old career after guiding Sri Lanka to a thumping 10-wicket triumph over India at Galle.

“I am going to miss the dressing room environment. The challenges of five-day cricket and, first and foremost, bowling to great players like Sachin Tendulkar. I will miss this,” the wily off-spinner said in an interview.

Muralitharan, however, said that he neither regrets his decision nor does he think that it was a premature one. “I don’t think that it was a premature decision. I was thinking about it since long and I thought it was the perfect time,” said the eye-popping legend.

Muralitharan retired from Test cricket after reaching his 800 wickets. He got the 800th wicket with his final ball in Test cricket.

The affable bowler said he was not confident of reaching the milestone. “Many people, including my wife, suggested that I should play the whole series against India but I wanted to play only the Galle Test. Frankly speaking I was not at all confident of getting the eight wickets needed to touch 800. I was not even thinking about that. Winning was more important for me and I was concentrating on that. Although I felt on the top of the world when I got Pragyan Ojha’s wicket,” he said “All my teammates hugged me. Everyone was very happy. That was an invaluable moment for me and I can never forget that.”

Muralitharan does not agree that his record is for keeps and no bowler would be able to break it. “This is cricket. You can not guarantee anything. Someone may cross the 800 Test wickets mark tomorrow. Even when I started playing, I never thought of making a world record one day,” said the bowler, who has taken 515 ODI wickets.

Talking about his future plans, Muralitharan said that he wishes to play Twenty20 Cricket for the next couple of years but no he has plans to enter politics like former captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Sanath Jayasuriya.

“I want to play Twenty20 cricket for the next two or three years. I would love to remain a part of Chennai Super Kings provided the IPL franchise wants me. Next year’s ODI world cup is also on my radar but it’s upto the selectors and coach whether they want me or not. As far as politics is concerned, it’s not my cup of tea,” said Muralitharan.

When asked if he would like to groom Indian spinners, Muralitharan said Anil Kumble will be a better option for that. “I think Anil will be a better option for that. He understands Indian cricket and was an excellent captain,” he said.

Muralitharan said he felt overwhelmed by the love and respect showered on him by great players like Tendulkar, Shane Warne, Wasim Akram and Sourav Ganguly. “I feel privileged that such players are saying good things about me. I have made many friends all around the world and I am proud of that.”

Muralitharan brought down the curtains on his glittering 18-year-old Test career after reaching 800-wicket mark in his swansong Test against India last week.

“Murali is a great player who has created an unbeatable and amazing record of 800 Test wickets. We admire the skills he has brought to the game. Some people had some things to say, but at the end of the day, he is a different element, who has on 67 occasions taken 5 wickets in a game,” Waugh told reporters here on the sidelines of a function.

When asked about the Australian umpires calling him for throwing after which chucking allegations were levelled against the spin wizard, who had to even faced jibes Down Under, and if all these things had been racially motivated, Waugh said, “Forget racial thing, that card always gets played.”

“It was certainly not a racist thing. We should celebrate that he (Murali) has played so successfully,” he said.

Waugh said there were consequences to the decision of the umpires, which was a big decision that they had taken and one could always debate about that.

The spinner’s action had come under scanner when Australian umpire Darrell Hair called him for throwing during the Sri Lanka’s tour to Australia in 1995-96. Former Aussie umpire Ross Emerson had, on one occasion, no-balled him seven times during an ODI.

Waugh said that players like Murali and Sachin Tendulkar were rare to find and added that the way master batsman was going, he could soon reach his 50th Test hundred.

He also rated the current crop of spinners, including England’s Graeme Swann and Aussie Nathan Hauritz, as promising. He also praised India’s off spinner Harbhajan Singh, though he said he was somewhat inconsistent.

On Australia losing the last Test against Pakistan and some gunning for skipper Ricky Ponting, Waugh said, “Australia had won seven Tests in a row. You have got to see the statistics and a few losses in between does not change the whole thing.”

He said that Ponting has done very well, but Australian vice-captain, Michael Clarke would naturally fit into his shoes once the former himself decides that he has had enough or whenever the selectors decide about him. “Clarke is definitely the next favourite,” Waugh said.

He also said that there were challenges coming up ahead, which included Australia playing Tests against India in the subcontinent in October. Asked if he had any plans to take to coaching in future, he ruled it out, saying he had three children to take care of and could not stay away from them for more than a month.

On Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara’s comments on awarding of Test rankings to nations, Waugh said the current system was pretty good and added, “It’s generally such system that when you are on top, you don’t complain.”

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on spate of attacks on the Indian students in Australia in recent times, Waugh said, “My country has always welcomed the Indian students.”

“Majority of the students, be it from India or any part of the world have had good experiences to share. However, no country in the world can guarantee 100 per cent safety and security. We want to look after the international students to the best we can. I can only say that in 99.9 per cent cases, the students have had a fantastic time,” Waugh added.

The first Test against India in Galle, beginning July 18, will be the last game for the 38-year-old Muralitharan, who has taken an amazing tally of 792 wickets in 132 Tests and 515 wickets in 337 ODIs, the most by any bowler in both formats.

Although Murali will no longer play after the first match of the three-Test series, he has kept open the option of playing the 2011 ODI World Cup, to be co-hosted by Sri Lanka along with India and Bangladesh.

“World’s leading wicket-taker and champion spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has decided to retire from Test cricket after the first Test in Galle against India,” a statement by Sri Lanka Cricket said. “Muralitharan has had discussions with the national selectors, Sri Lankan Cricket officials and has had the blessings his excellency Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse and the Minister of Sports C B Ratnayake.”

“I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. There is nothing left or any target to reach,” the 38-year-old said in an interview later in the day. “I was thinking about it for a long time and wanted to retire after playing the West Indies. However, I did not want to keep so many talented youngsters waiting. I changed my decision and thought why not retire against India since they are the number one Test side.”

Muralitharan said he had no regrets about quitting because he had reached the peak in both forms of the game. “I’m very happy because I have played Test cricket for so long,” he said. “The decision to retire was not difficult. I am not getting any younger. You can’t play for ever and ever.”

Reports said Muralitharan preferred not to wait until the end of the three Test matches against India because he was unsure of being able to manage the workload of an entire series. He begins the Galle Test, the 133rd of his career, needing eight wickets to reach the 800-wicket target.

Sri Lanka’s former World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who mentored Muralitharan in his younger days, said the off-spinner’s time was up. “I feel he made the decision at the right time,” Ranatunga said. “He has been struggling over the past few months with nagging injuries. I am glad he is going now. Better go when the public ask why, rather than why not. It’s a very sad day for Sri Lanka because he has been a top class servant of the country.”

Muralitharan’s 18-year career was marred by controversy due to his bent-arm action — the result of an elbow deformity since birth — which helped him impart considerable turn and bounce even on the most placid wickets. But the International Cricket Council, which carried out bio-mechanical tests on the bowler, cleared him of a suspect action.

Muralitharan will continue to make himself available for one-day matches and hopes to play in the 2011 World Cup if needed, his manager Kushil Gunasekara told reporters. “He wanted to retire from all forms of international cricket after the Galle Test, but the cricket board wanted him to stay on till the World Cup next year,” Gunasekara said.

When asked if their was any contemporary bowler, who according to him could break his record of the most wickets in test matches, Muralitharan singled out India’s off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as the only bowler capable of emulating his record feat in Tests. Murali also said the decline of Tests and 50-over cricket meant slow bowlers would struggle for survival.

“I think only Harbhajan can do this,” Murali, who currently has 792 wickets, said. “I don’t know how old he is and how long he will continue. But he is the only one who can achieve this feat in Test cricket.”

Harbhajan, 30, has bagged 355 wickets in 83 Tests to date.

Murali said it would get increasingly difficult for spinners to set the kind of records he has. “In the current scenario, Test cricket is dying. One-day cricket does not have bright future. Only Twenty20 is going to survive. So it will be difficult for any slow bowler to survive so long,” he said.

Murali’s success was a significant factor in the turn in Sri Lanka’s fortunes as a Test-playing nation, but they were unable to win a Test in India, South Africa or Australia during his 18-year career. The absence of a win in either of these countries during his career remained his biggest regret.

“I have achieved everything that an international cricketer can dream about. I have only one regret that I could not win in India, South Africa and Australia. But one cannot get everything in life,” Murali said.

Murali is just eight wickets away from reaching 800 wickets, and said reaching that landmark would mark a satisfactory end to his Test career. “I don’t run after records. I have the world record in my name. Although if I could get eight more wickets, it will be a good way to end. I am sure I will be able to do that in one match. If not, no worries,” he said.

When asked who was the toughest batsman he bowled to, Murali said: “If we talk about the consistency, then no other batsman can match Sachin [Tendulkar] and [Brian] Lara. They are the best against whom I have bowled. I had to put in extra effort against them. I am happy that I will be able to bowl Sachin in my last Test.”

Murali said he is yet to decide whether to participate in the 2011 World Cup, but was available for the IPL. “I have not given it a thought yet [about the 2011 World Cup]. I cannot say that it is off my radar but I will think about this. After that I will be able to say something about participating in the tournament,” he said. “I want to continue playing in the IPL till the franchise (Chennai Super Kings) needs me.”

Along with Jayasuriya, spinner Ajantha Mendis was also dropped for the four-nation tournament starting June 15 in Sri Lanka.

Regular skipper Kumar Sangakkara and off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who were rested for the tri-nation series in Zimbabwe, returned to the squad for the tournament, which also features India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Former skipper Mahela Jayawardene and pace spearhead Lasith Malinga were also back in the side after being rested.

Tillakaratne Dilshan, who captained Sri Lanka to the series win in Zimbabwe, and opener Upul Tharanga, who shone with the bat in the event after being ignored for the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies, were retained in the squad.

Besides all-rounder Angelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera, Farvez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welagedara, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath and Thilina Kandamby also kept their places in the squad.

However, middle-order batsman Chamara Silva and fast bowler Dilhara Fernando, who were selected for the tri-series in Zimbabwe, failed to retain their place.

Similarly all-rounder Jeevan Mendis, who had his debut in Zimbabwe, was also left out from the Asia Cup squad.

Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Muttiah Muralidharan (VC), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Mahela Jayawardana, Lasith Malinga, Anjelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera, Farvez Maharoof, Chamara Kapugedara, Nuwan Kulasekera, Chanaka Welagedara, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Thilina Kandamby.

“We brought lots of youngsters here and they have got opportunities and done well. We are looking at World Cup. I got my form back as well. I want to carry it to the World Cup,” said Dilshan, who made an unbeaten 108 in the final and helped Sri Lanka overhaul the 200-run target set by Zimbabwe with 15.2 overs to spare.

Dilshan also heaped praise on the youngsters for their series-winning show in Zimbabwe.

“I am very happy. The boys have performed well. The two fast bowlers set the tone for us by bowling really well. (Dinesh) Chandimal got a hundred and Jeevan Mendis is a good all-rounder,” he said.

The 33-year-old right-hander also thanked his teammates for supporting him in his first stint as captain of the Sri Lankan team. “I would like to thank my teammates for supporting me as a captain. It wasn’t easy to captain and I have enjoyed it. I liked the challenge,” Dilshan said.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura, meanwhile, admitted that they were completely outplayed by the Sri Lankans in the final but said there were lots of positives to take from this series.

“Sri Lanka bowled well and put us under pressure from ball one,” he said. “There are lots of positives to get out of this tournament, especially our batsmen. Unfortunately, we are having a break after this but it’s good for the next season. Hopefully we are going in the right way and we will keep winning more matches. Keep watching us and keep supporting us.”

His teammate Brendan Taylor, who was adjudged the man-of-the-series, said he was happy to have contributed for his side as an opener.

“It’s very satisfying to get where we are. Unfortunately, we didn’t back it up in the final but we are pleased with how we have gone. Not just myself, others have done well too, including (Tatenda) Taibu, (Hamilton) Masakadza and the spinners. I was probably more relaxed in this series. Opening is new to me and I haven’t done it for a while. It’s nice to play with a good bunch of people,” he said.

De Silva also said that the new format, modelled on the glitzy IPL, is aimed at attracting overseas sponsorships.

“This (new) Inter-Provincial League will create opportunities for players, spectators and viewers and raise scope for foreign advertisers to reach a much wider audience,” de Silva was quoted as saying by AFP.

The current Inter-Provincial Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka comprises six teams, with Wayamba the reigning champions. In 2008, the governing body for rugby in Sri Lanka allowed foreign players to feature in domestic competitions.

De Silva, who was the Man of the Match in the final of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup win, admitted the move to include foreign players was part of the trend set in motion by the IPL.

“With IPL, the Twenty20 format went a step further,” he said. “Just when Test cricket was sagging, IPL was formed three years back. The whole dynamics changed. Boundaries were cleared and players were merged from across the globe to form teams.”

“Viewers now have short attention spans. They want to see quick results,” de Silva said.

Sri Lanka Cricket is expected to announce the new structure soon.