Sri Lanka have named an 18-man squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Australia at home. The selectors have picked a larger squad than usual due to the ongoing injury concerns to a few key players.
Dhananjaya de Silva and Pathum Nissanka are recovering from injuries. The Test skipper had a side strain in a domestic game a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, Nissanka is racing against time to be fit for the series. He suffered a groin strain in the third ODI in New Zealand earlier this month.
Hence, there are a couple of uncapped players in the squad. Sonal Dinusha and Lahiru Udara are the two new names in the side. But both of them have quite a bit of experience in first-class and domestic cricket.
Dinusha has been highly impressive this season where he has racked up two hundreds in as many innings in the Major League Tournament (first-class competition) in Sri Lanka. His left-arm spin has yielded five wickets as well. He even got scores of 85 not out & 116 not out while playing for Sri Lanka ‘A’ against Pakistan ‘A’ in November last year. Overall, he has 2285 runs at an average of 40.08 in first-class cricket and has taken 94 wickets while averaging 24.06 with the ball.
On the other hand, Udara has played 97 first-class games and has amassed 6665 runs at an average of 41.14. He has 296 runs in four matches at an average of 59.20 in the ongoing first-class domestic competition in Sri Lanka.
Rest of the Sri Lanka squad on expected lines
Both the newbies are likely to be back up and cover options, given there is decent depth in the squad. The batting is on the expected lines with Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Kusal Mendis forming the core. Mendis is set to don the gloves while there is Sadeera Samarawickrama who is likely to be the second wicket-keeping option.
As far as the bowling is concerned, Prabath Jayasuriya will lead the spin attack and will have the likes of Nishan Peiris and Jeffrey Vandersay to accompany him as the frontline options. There are four pace-bowling options as well in the form of Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Milan Rathyanake. However, it’ll be interesting to see how many pacers get the nod in the playing XI, given the conditions are likely to assist spin from the start of the game.
Both Tests of the series are scheduled to be played in Galle. The first Test starts on the 29th of January while the second will kick off on the 6th of February. Australia have already announced their squad and have arrived in Sri Lanka.
The series is a part of the 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC) but the result will not affect the final as Australia qualified after beating India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. South Africa have also confirmed their spot in the title-clash.
SRI LANKA SQUAD: Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wicket-keeper), Sadeera Samarawickrama (wicket-keeper), Lahiru Udara, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathyanake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara.