Lahiru Thirimanne makes a comeback into the Sri Lanka team for the two Tests against India while Jeffrey Vandersay will get his maiden Test cap.
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Sri Lanka has made some surprise inclusions in the two-Test series against India that will begin on March 4. The matches will be played in Mohali and Bangalore. For the Sri Lankan team, they have named an 18-man squad. Kusal Mendis, who suffered a hamstring injury in the fifth T20I against Australia, has been ruled out of the T20I series against India. However, the side will see the return of Lahiru Thirimanne and Niroshan Dickwella. Thirimanne had missed the series against West Indies while Dickwella was banned due to a bio-bubble breach in England.
Sri Lanka has been plagued by injuries in the Twenty20 series against India. Maheesh Theekshana and Mendis have suffered injuries that have ruled them out. Theekshana will fly back home and play no further part in the tour. Wanindu Hasaranga, Sri Lanka’s ace spinner, will not play any part in the tour after he was ruled out due to testing positive for coronavirus.
Niroshan Dickwella and Dhananjaya de Silva have been drafted into the side in place of Theekshana and Mendis. But, the Sri Lanka side has the experience and youth. Dimuth Karunaratne, the skipper, has been in fine form and has been the stalwart in Sri Lanka’s opening slot. Angelo Mathews, who has over a decade of experience, also returns to shore up the middle order.
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In Lasith Embuldeniya, they have a promising spinner who tormented the West Indies in the previous series. But, his partner Ramesh Mendis has missed out due to injury. The other backup spinner is Praveen Jayawickrama. With Lahiru Kumara, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, and Suranga Lakmal in the line-up, the pace bowling line-up is in good shape. This will be the last international series for Suranga Lakmal, who has called time upon his career.
The matches in Mohali and Bangalore represent a decent chance for Sri Lanka to break their drought in India. The match in Mohali might be Virat Kohli’s 100th Test. On the other hand, Bangalore will host the second Day-Night Test in India. In 2019, Kolkata has hosted the first Pink Ball Test against Bangladesh. Incidentally, this was the last match in which Virat Kohli scored a ton.
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva (vc), Kusal Mendis*, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella, Chamika Karunaratne, Ramesh Mendis (will not take part due to an injury), Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrema, Lasith Embuldeniya
