Sydney, Dec. 5 : Sri Lankan cricketer Mahela Jayawardene is reportedly considering relinquishing his captaincy role at the conclusion of the Australian series, according to a report.

The 2011 World Cup finalists will begin preparations for a three-day tour match against the Cricket Australia Chairman''s XI, starting Thursday at Canberra''s Manuka Oval.

Jayawardene, 35, agreed to steer the side through a difficult transition period for Sri Lankan cricket, but admits he is likely to pass the leadership baton at the end of the Australian summer.

"I took on the responsibility to lead the team for one year and that will end after the Australian tour. I am going to take it one series at a time, especially after the Australian tour I will have time to think. I want to make that transition as smooth as possible," News. com. au quoted Jayawardene, as saying.

"I don''t want to let go all the good things that''s been done all these years and just walk away from that. I will sit down and talk to a few people that I talk to usually when it comes to taking a decision and have a chat with the selectors as well especially with the captaincy position, then it will be much easier for me to make a call on what I want to do in my career," he added.

"(After the tour) I can sit back and think what I want to achieve not just for myself but for the team as well," he further said.

Jayawardene, who has blasted 10,640 Test runs with 31 centuries at 50.18, believes the time may be right to groom 25-year-old Angelo Mathews as his successor, the report said.

"In a way, personally, I feel that it would be better for him to be captain while there are some senior hands around in the team to help him rather than him taking over when there is no one," he said.

"He is very mature. The other important thing is he''s earned the respect of all the players, the younger and older players. The team is more focused on what they want to achieve now. It is a much-settled set-up. It could be the right time to give Angelo the captaincy," he added. (ANI)