Rangana Herath, the Sri Lanka left-arm spinner, has said the Test series in England could be his last.

Herath, who at 40 is the last active men's international cricketer who played in the 1990s, told BBC Sinhala that he was considering retiring from all formats in November after the three-Test series.

"Maybe my final series will be the England series later in the year," he said. "Following this South Africa series, there is another three months until the England series. For now, this is what I've planned for.

“There comes a time for every cricketer, when they have to stop playing. I think that time has come for me."

Herath has featured in 90 Tests, 71 one-day internationals and 17 Twenty20 Internationals for Sri Lanka. His 418 wickets in Test cricket, with most of them coming in the later part of his career after Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement, indicate just how prolific he has been for his country.

They also make him the most successful left-arm bowler in history.

He is again expected to have a big role to play in the home series against South Africa.

"I'm really glad I've been able to play as long as I have," Herath said, adding that he believed Sri Lanka’s spin bowling would be in the good hands of Dilruwan Perera, Akila Dananjaya and Lakshan Sandakan once he bows out.