COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP):

Sri Lanka appointed opening batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan as its new captain on Monday as part of a major overhaul of its cricketing structure following the national team's defeat by India in the World Cup final earlier this month.

Former skipper Kumar Sangakkara, his deputy Mahela Jayawardene and a four-member selection committee led by retired batting star Aravinda de Silva, resigned earlier this month. A new selection committee led by former captain and administrator Duleep Mendis has been appointed.

The 34-year-old Dilshan has previously led Sri Lanka in several Twenty20 and one-day internationals and is most likely to be an interim captain, with a younger player expected to be skipper at the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

He has played 66 Test matches, scoring 3,990 runs at more than 42 runs per innings. In 203 one-day internationals, Dilshan has scored 5,456 runs and taken 62 wickets, bowling off spin.

Having been an inconsistent middle-order batsman, Dilshan's performances improved after he was promoted to open the batting.

Mendis said that one of his main tasks will be to look for younger talent capable of taking over from current stalwarts like Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshan and Thilan Samara-weera, who are nearing their mid-30s and are unlikely to be at their prime at the next World Cup.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said yesterday that selectors have postponed naming a vice-captain because prospective candidates are nursing injuries and may not be available for next month's tour of England.

Anjelo Mathews is in the running for vice-captain, and the 23-year-old all-rounder is tipped to be Sri Lanka's choice to be captain for the next World Cup.

The changes also come amid a debate in Sri Lanka over the sports minister's order to national cricketers playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League to return early to prepare for the English tour.

Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said national team duties must be a priority over playing in the IPL.

Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jaya-wardene, Lasith Malinga, and Suraj Randiv are among the players who may be compelled to return early.

Muttiah Muralitharan, who retired from international cricket after the World Cup and is not bound by a contract with SLC, has criticised Sri Lanka's decision.