Sri Lanka today announced the 15-man squad for the Test series against Pakistan to be played in UAE starting September 28. The most notable inclusions are the uncapped players – Sadeera Samarawickrama and Roshen Silva, who have been rewarded for their impressive run in the domestic cricket.
Kaushal Silva makes a comeback to the longest format after missing out in the home series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and India. Dinesh Chandimal will lead the side and Lahiru Thirimanne has been named the vice-captain.
Mathews injured
Angelo Mathews hasn’t been included in the squad due to a grade one tear in his calf muscle, that he sustained during a training session. The former captain will miss out from the first Test. However, his availability for the 2nd Test is still unknown.
The Sri Lankan team has had a poor run in the game of late as they were hammered across all formats by India and that too, in their own backyard. The side would be hoping for a revival with the series against Pakistan.
They have brought in 2 uncapped talented youngsters who would desperately want to make a mark in national colors. Samarawickrama, the 22-year-old is a wicketkeeper-batsman who has scored 2070 runs in 27 first-class matches at an average of 47.04 and a healthy strike rate of 81.20.
Another newbie Roshen Silva has featured in 101 first-class games and accounted for 6265 runs. Although it’s not the first time he has made it to the squad as he was picked for the series against Australia last year but didn’t get to play in the XI.
Sri Lanka’s squad
Dinesh Chandimal (Captain), Lahiru Thirimanna (VC), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrema, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage.
Standby: Dhananjaya De Silva, Jeffery Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Dasun Shanaka.
