'Best time for me to leave' - Suranga Lakmal looks back at Test career before final hurrah

More than thinking about my performance, I thought about what I can do for my team. I've played for 13 years, and now I'm 35. Rather than sticking around for a couple more years, I thought I'd give my place to someone younger. This is the best time to take my leave of Sri Lanka cricket.

If I was going after 200 wickets, I don't know how many more Tests I'd have had to have played. Maybe ten. Maybe five. But then you're just going after personal goals. I didn't want to be like that. If from my leaving, we can get one or two players who can take my place and have those opportunities - that's what's important.

If I carried this baton even further, it'll take even longer for someone else to come up and take my place. It could just be a few months, but it could be longer. We're all playing for this Test Championship and a lot of service is expected of me there, but a lot of the Tests we will play in the rest of the year are in Sri Lanka. We all know that we prepare spinning pitches there. Even if there's just one or two seamers playing, you have the opportunity to groom someone new. There are good players who don't have experience, and they should get that chance.

Right now, there's Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, and Kasun Rajitha has started to play again as well. There are others in the domestic leagues like Pramod Madushan. We've got to look after them and make sure they have access to good trainers and physios. Now we've got four-day cricket starting soon as well. If we can get the national team players involved in that and play a couple of games, that would be great for younger players.

I really wanted to play a county cricket season before I retired, so I've got that opportunity. I've also been discussion the possibility of playing in Australia. Let's see what happens this first year. If I can do something for Sri Lankan cricket, I'm very happy to do that. I've told the younger players they can call me any time. I'm not a legend, but whatever little I can do I will do. What I've got in life is thanks to cricket, and we have to love the game. I might be playing for Derbyshire, but I'd love to do as much as I can for our players.

Probably my biggest success was winning the pink-ball Test in Barbados under my captaincy. That was the first time an Asian team that won there. Also whitewashing Australia at home in 2016. Winning in South Africa as the first Asian team to do that was great as well.