Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga confirmed that Samaraweera had handed a resignation letter to him on Tuesday.
"We requested Thilan to have a meaningful dialogue with the national selectors before finalising such a decision," Ranatunga told reporters.
"At a time like this when some of the senior cricketers are suffering from injuries, a cricketer of Thilan's experience is vital to the national team," he said.
Samaraweera was named as a replacement for the injured Mahela Jayawardene in the initial squad of 20 for the first test against Bangladesh starting at Galle on March 8 but was left out when it was cut to 16.
The 36-year-old right-hand middle-order batsman has played in 81 tests for his country since 2001 and scored 5,462 runs at an average of 48.76.
He has also appeared in 53 one-day internationals.
